Lengths
by MayaMay
Summary: Ever since Itachi’s betrayal, it has become Sasuke’s sole purpose in life to seek vengeance. The Uchiha survivor will go through great lengths in order to fulfill this goal, including masquerading as a boy in order to gain respect. Fem!Sasuke,AU
1. Chapter 1

Title: Lengths

Author: MayaMay

Summary: Ever since Itachi's betrayal four years ago, it has become Sasuke's sole purpose in life to seek vengeance. The Uchiha survivor will go through great lengths in order to fulfill this goal, including masquerading as a boy in order to gain respect. [Fem!Sasuke, AU

Disclaimer: I do not own the _Naruto_ series. It belongs to its respective owners.

Chapter Warnings: Deviation from plot (hence AU), language

* * *

"If you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life." 

So Sasuke does.

--

A sigh escapes from a pair of lips as Sasuke balances.

"Don't eat breakfast," Kakashi had advised Team 7. "You're going to throw up if you do."

What a jerk.

Sasuke admits, the stupidity of Naruto is staggeringly impressive; to be idiotic enough to confront a jounin head on, fresh out of Academy? There is a small, grudging acceptance that while the idiot is getting his ass pummeled, it is benefiting Sasuke with the opportunity to assess their instructor.

"Fast," is the first thought as Kakashi spins out of Naruto's attack almost imperceptibly, hands folded in the tiger seal. "Dangerous," eyes widening in apprehension.

Sakura's cry suddenly rings out, "Naruto! You're going to die!"

Too late, too late, Kakashi is poised, and Sasuke can see all his stored potential energy bursting into kinetic as the jounin unleashes his technique.

"Oh, hell," Sasuke hears a bush say, and Naruto is launched into the lake after receiving a brutal jab to the ass.

"Stupid," is the conclusion made about Kakashi, and Sasuke graciously includes the two teammates into that category as well when Kakashi's gaze sweeps to where Sakura is hiding.

"I just need an opening," Sasuke bristles, watching Sakura's inevitable failure against their teacher. She shrieks, terrified from something, then faints; Sasuke realizes that Kakashi has trapped her in a genjutsu.

The jounin bends over the unconscious girl to check her pulse, and Sasuke sees his guard drop. Reaching for some kunai, the youth readies for an attack when four shuriken suddenly slice through the air and slam into Kakashi. Naruto climbs out of the lake, shaking water off.

A puff of smoke reveals the Kakashi over Sakura as a fake, and Sasuke swings around to search for the real jounin. "Where'd that bastard go?" Naruto voices both of their thoughts.

"Naruto, mind your language," says a tree, and the blonde whips a kunai at it. The thunk of wood alerts them that he missed, but the tinny tinkle of a bell catches their attention. There, at the base of the tree and catching light, is a bell.

"It's a trap," Sasuke thinks.

Naruto apparently does not arrive at the same conclusion as Sasuke, because in one step he is caught in a snare, and dangling helplessly from the rope around his feet. Kakashi is suddenly there, crouching before the blonde to retrieve the bell.

"Now Naruto," he says, "You have to give me more credit than that. What kind of ninja would I be to let you win so easily?"

While he is lecturing, Sasuke sees it. The almost imperceptible drooping of shoulders from their teacher, indicating a lax in attention. Kunai fly from Sasuke's fingers, and the youth jumps after.

The projectiles are easily deflected, and the jounin catches the kick aimed at him. Sasuke follows quickly with a punch, which is also deflected, and another kick, which is caught.

A breath of laughter escapes the youth—Kakashi's hands are both occupied—and Sasuke reaches for the bells tied around Kakashi's waist. Fingers brush against the cool metal before their teacher drops the limbs he is holding in lieu of protecting the small instruments.

Sasuke does not allow him a chance to recover his bearings, and quickly forms seals. "_Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!_" as a burst of flame erupts, scorching the earth black.

There are no traces of Kakashi when the technique lets up, and Sasuke is not fool enough to think the jounin was killed by the spell. Eyes darting in every direction, the Uchiha moves to leap away when a hard grip at the ankle roots Sasuke in place. A hand protrudes from the earth, fingers tightly clenched around the youth, and Kakashi soon bursts from the ground.

Sasuke brings hands together to form seals for _Ryūka__no Jutsu , _intending to incinerate the convenient line Kakashi's arm forms to the rest of his body, but another gloved hand grabs and wrenches Sasuke's hands apart before the technique can be finished. In an instant, Kakashi has Sasuke pinned against him, a leg ensnaring the youth's legs in place, a hand tightly holding wrists, and an arm looped around the chest. Sasuke immediately freezes.

"Hmm?" wonders a low voice, and the hand wanders. Sasuke feels his fingers groping, squeezing soft flesh at the chest, and turns red.

"Why, Sasuke!" the teacher exclaims, and squeezes again. "Are you trying to seduce me? But you should know, _Oiroke no Jutsu _is not so effective when you wear such shapeless clothing."

The sound of metal cutting air reaches their ears, and Sasuke is spun around to see four kunai flying towards them, and Sakura's horrified expression. "He's using me as a shield?" the thought flits through Sasuke's mind, before being painfully shoved to the ground. Kakashi crouches on the Uchiha's back as the kunai narrowly miss decapitating the two.

"S-Sensei," Sakura's shaky voice starts, but a shrill ringing noise prevents anything else she might have said.

"Time's up. You all fail," Kakashi says jovially.

--

"What a jerk," Sasuke thinks not for the first time today. In the end, they had passed, in spite of Kakashi's earlier prognosis.

"In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum. This is true. But, those who abandon their friends are worse than scum," he had said. "I pitted you against each other, hoping you would realize that this was an exercise in teamwork. I was hoping you would be able to set aside differences in order to help each other out."

_("Always look beneath the underneath," Itachi advises.)_

"Naruto," Kakashi had said, "doesn't get lunch. Sasuke, Sakura, eat your bento. I'll be back in an hour; we'll continue this training exercise afterwards. Anyone who feeds him will fail."

Then directing to the child beneath him, "Save your chakra, you'll need it for later. No need to keep the illusion."

_("Behind every action is a motive. You must learn to identify what this motive is, if you want to be ninja.")_

"Itachi," Sasuke trails. Visions of red dance through the survivor's mind.

_("If you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me…")_

Kakashi had stood up from Sasuke's back, and hoisted the youth as well. "_Kai,_" the child had muttered. "_Henge,_" is what was thought and executed.

_("…survive in an unsightly way.")_

In front of a mirror, and Sasuke observes the reflection. "_Kai,_" this time said with meaning, and the once flat chest is now curved, the hips are wider, torso narrower.

_("Little sister.")_

* * *

**-end ****chapter-**

**T****echniques:**

_Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu_– Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique  
_(Katon:) __Ryūka__no Jutsu _– (Fire Release:) Dragon Fire Technique (it should be noted that this technique requires a wire or line for the flame to travel on—in this case, Sasuke intended to use Kakashi's own arm!)  
_Oiroke no Jutsu_ – Sexy Technique  
_Kai _– Dispel  
_H__enge _– Transformation

**Notes:** One thing I love about the techniques in _Naruto_ is that the user does not have to vocalize it in order for it to work. I will be naming the techniques I have each character use, and you will always be able to find what the English name of it is at the end of the chapter.

Careful readers out there may have noticed the distinct lack of pronouns used for Sasuke. This was done with purpose, since from the start I wanted Sasuke to be female, but did not want to "lie" to the readers by using masculine pronouns, nor did I want to tell the readers until the very end what gender Sasuke is (even though the summary already gives it away, but whatever). Because of this, it was a very difficult chapter to write!

Please take some time to review, I'd appreciate some thoughts.

--MayaMay


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Lengths

Author: MayaMay

Disclaimer: I do not own the _Naruto_ series. It belongs to its respective owners.

Chapter Warnings: more AU, language

* * *

"Big brother, will you help me with my shuriken training?" Sasuke asks, clutching a pouch of projectiles. 

Itachi spares his sibling a glance, then turns back to the door. "I'm very busy now, Sasuke. Perhaps you can ask father to assist you?"

A scowl forms across the child's face, and the response is petulant. "But you're better than father is, he even said so himself."

There is laughter, and Itachi beckons. "Come here, Sasuke,"

Eagerly, because garnering the attention of her beloved older brother is such a privilege, and she adores her sibling. A sharp pain to her forehead makes her squeeze her eyes shut when Itachi flicks her.

"Forgive me, little sister," his voice has a tinge of remorse. "Maybe next time. Why don't you help mother prepare lunch? Big brother would love to eat some of your delicious onigiri when he comes home."

Sasuke rubs the affected area, and nods. He always says the same thing. "Okay," she says, then adds, "Itterasshai."

"Ittekimasu," as the door slides shut behind him.

--

She sleeps in her parents' bedroom, because this is where memories are strongest. Four years have passed, and still the perfume of her mother lingers in the air, and her father's musky scent ghosts the room. Their blood is forever stained on the hardwood floor, and their techniques and legacy immortalized in Sasuke. It is the pain that Sasuke awakens to each and every morning; a sharp reminder of what she was, and who she has become.

Her days are always routine, habit instilled into her from as long as she can remember. Minor alterations have been made, to accommodate for the passage of time. Every morning after waking, Sasuke burns incense for her deceased clan. The smoky tendrils curl around her mind and invade her body, filling it with anger and remorse. The same vow is made each and every time she breathes the heavy scent, until the fire dies and the incense is no longer burning.

The last meal Sasuke had ever prepared with her mother is steamed fish with rice. Every morning, Sasuke boils water and places a bamboo basket above, catching the hot steam to slowly cook fish. She sees her mother's hands, instead of her own, placing the lid on top to trap the heat. Her mother's hands slice the pickled radish evenly, and her mother's hands carefully measure the dried leaves to steep in the scalding water within the teapot.

When she folds her legs beneath her, ready to consume the meal, it is not Sasuke that is picking up the chopstick. Her father delicately breaks the fish, her father taking small, even bites, and her father sipping the tea.

But it is not her mother's food, because the fish is bland, the pickles are too sweet, the rice is not sticky, and the tea is bitter. And it is not her father eating, because she is never able to finish her meal, full before even half the fish is consumed, only a few swallows of rice gone, the pickles untouched and cup filled with lukewarm tea.

Every afternoon, when the sun is high in the sky, Sasuke frequents the training grounds, bringing only ten kunai, because there are eight targets, two of which are hidden, and Itachi always used twelve and Sasuke is determined to do better. Every afternoon, she spins in the air, floating like Itachi, his hands fluid as each weapon flies home and impales a target dead center, movement showing ease and control of his actions. But Sasuke is not Itachi, and her kunai are off, because Itachi uses four kunai in order to hit the hidden targets, but Sasuke uses two, and hers always miss. Her other six targets are accurate, but Sasuke does not float as high as Itachi, and it is not fluid in the slightest but instead very jerky and disconnected.

She spends her evenings cleaning the compound, a chore usually reserved for other clan members, halls bustling with activity as her aunts aired blankets and her cousins scrubbed the floors to a waxy shine. The Uchiha household used to come alive with the activity of family, talking and laughing as each task was carried out to completion, until night began to fall, in which her aunts would hang the lanterns outside, and her uncles would light them, one by one, until a straight path was cheerfully illuminated. When Sasuke cleans, the air hangs heavy with dust, the blankets are worn with age, and the floors beneath her feet creak and groan. The path of lit lanterns looks like the eyes of many beasts staring hungrily from the night, and there is no cheer, only darkness.

Her dinner is always salted onigiri, the leftover rice from breakfast shaped into rounded triangles and piled onto a tray, a strip of nori pressed onto each. Sometimes Sasuke boils pork and stews leeks, or makes a stew from the leftover fish. She never finishes, and the taste is always wrong.

Every night, Sasuke inhabits the bedroom of her parents, and takes in the smells of her mother and father. She sees herself touching and laughing in this room, tickled and chased, then horrified and crying. But this is not her, because Sasuke was a child, happy and content with life, innocent and pure, and she is fake, corrupted, and just a pale ghost of what used to be. Every night, she prays again while under the covers in her futon. The scent of her mother and father is strong; the scent of their blood is stronger. The sounds of their voices echo constantly, but the sound of silence is deafening.

--

It is obvious to tell what Naruto is thinking just by looking at his face. There is currently a look of concentration painting his features, but underneath is clear glee at this mission.

"I'm sick and tired of gardening and fixing roofs," he had whined to the Hokage. Sasuke cringed at his flippant attitude, and beside her, Sakura was making faces as well. "Give us a harder mission!"

Their first C-rank, and it just so happens that it is horribly mislabeled. Kakashi's words echo, "This should be at least an A-rank mission."

Genin should never be assigned A-rank missions. Those are always left for the jounin, sometimes chuunin to complete, the skill required to complete the task far outranking the capabilities of a normal genin. But they have come this far already, too far to turn back, and failure is not an option.

Naruto is brimming with energy, the idiot too excited to understand the situation. Sasuke hit him earlier for mistaking a bird for an ambush, and the blonde immediately fought back. It resulted in a short brawl, consisting mainly of Naruto throwing swears and sloppy punches and Sasuke dodging both easily. Sakura had tried to interfere, but was cut back sharply by Naruto's words, "Stay out of this, Sakura! You might get hurt if you interfere! This is a battle between men!"

The exclamation had burned Sasuke. "It's idiots like you that I hate the most," she had sneered. Sakura had smiled then, elated but misinterpreting the direction of the message. Sasuke almost broke Naruto's wrist before Kakashi stepped in.

Two genin, one jounin, and one civilian, tired, with one genin bouncing with energy, make their way to the Village Hidden in the Mist. Sasuke resists the urge to slap Naruto again at the unjustness of it all. Her ribs hurt from when Zabuza had stomped on them repeatedly, and Sasuke suspects them to be bruised. Her joints ache, and her muscles are sore, and goddamit, Naruto got the shit beat out of him too, so how is he still moving around like that? He's probably faking it, the masochist, Sasuke internally sneers, then straightens up. If the dead last can put up with it, then by no means is Sasuke going to be shown up.

"You'll see," the thought blazes through her mind, "how strong I have become. I am not weak like before."

The next few days are spent learning better chakra control.

"You have too much pent up chakra, Sasuke," their teacher informs. "When you use _jutsu_, you always explode with too much chakra. Venting like that is not healthy or efficient."

Sasuke bristles at those words, immediately catching the double entendre.

"It seems that someone else is more fit to become Hokage than you, Naruto," Kakashi directs to the blonde youth, after Sakura has succeeded in walking up a tree through superb chakra control. Naruto has not even put a notch on the trunk yet.

Sasuke is glad that Sakura easily completes this exercise, instead of Naruto. Testament that being loud and obnoxious does not always equate to success.

"I guess the Uchiha blood isn't as great as I thought," he adds.

She tries not to get riled, because Kakashi's words are a low blow, and low blows should not affect her for many reasons. Sasuke then remembers her situation and explodes in anger. Dashing towards the tree, she manages to climb a couple meters higher, before the bark splits beneath her foot.

They spend the rest of the night inching higher, and Sasuke knows she is at her limit. The scores on the trunk confirm the truth; the last several attempts she has made show no progress, each slash overlapping the other. A cursory glance at Naruto reveals his attempts to be catching up to her own.

"I have to get stronger; this can't be all I'm capable of!" she thinks, concentrating her chakra. Another run up, another slash. This one is higher, and relief floods her body.

The next day is frustrating. Sasuke's body, which did not feel the pain quite so sharply yesterday, is now on fire. It hurts to stretch, but Sasuke endures, knowing that she will be worse off if she does not.

Naruto has already started, plowing into the tree and only reaching half way. When Sasuke tries, she accomplishes just a little bit higher than him, but not nearly as far as she did the night before. "Techniques are not learned in one sitting," she reminds herself, but the disappointment still makes its course.

Each slash she makes climbs higher, but it is tiring and exerting, and soon Sasuke is panting from effort.

When Kakashi and Sakura come to check on their progress, Naruto is already lazing on a thick tree branch. "Heh heh, pretty impressive, right?" he remarks cheekily while standing up. "After all, this kinda stuff is too easy for me—" he is cut off as his footing slips.

"Naruto!" Sakura screams, and Sasuke is already moving.

Naruto's arms pinwheel as he struggles to regain balance, but he is only delaying the inevitable. With a shout, he begins to fall, and Kakashi bends his knees, ready to jump and catch the boy.

The blonde's body sways, but does not descend. "Just kidding!" he exclaims, crossing his arms and smirking. "I really fooled you, huh?"

"Naruto, you're such an idiot! Don't even joke about that," Sakura spits.

He laughs loudly, but his amused expression soon changes to one of horror as his concentration slips and the chakra at his feet lessens enough to loose its adhesiveness to the branch. His body falls, for real this time, but Sasuke has already had a head start.

With a twist in the air, she manages to grasp an ankle and root her feet against the tree. The weight of the blonde genin jolts her entire body, and Sasuke exhales in pain. She was already tired and strained, and this is too much, her vision blackening at the edges. Sasuke is dimly aware of Naruto twisting to hug the fat tree trunk. She feels the chakra dissipating, hears Sakura's screams and Naruto's shouts, a sudden rush of air, then nothing.

* * *

**-end chapter-**

**Translations for the confused:**  
Itterasshai: said to someone when that person is leaving (house, work), and can roughly be translated to mean "Have a safe journey/Have a nice day."  
Ittekimasu: said when leaving (house, work), and can be roughly translated to mean "I'm leaving/I'm heading off."  
Onigiri: riceball, which can be eaten plain or with seasonings like sesame seeds, salt, seaweed, and various salty or sour fruits/vegetables/seafood/meats.  
Nori: seaweed, onigiri is usually eaten with a strip of nori.

**Notes:** I don't think I've ever seen any of the characters in _Naruto _honoring Japanese customs, such as meeting other people or even partaking in a meal (I could be wrong, I did watch the series in about two days). I liked the idea of the Uchiha clan being a traditional sort of family. Their household is very traditional, with sliding doors with rice paper, the tiling of their rooftops, and using futons for bedding. I thought it would be appropriate if their members partook in the same customs, and used these types expressions as well.

Next chapter might take a little longer than usual; I have a Final to study for and paper to write.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Lengths

Author: MayaMay

Disclaimer: I do not own the _Naruto_ series. It belongs to its respective owners.

Chapter Warnings: still more AU, language (liberal dropping of F-bombs everywhere), lots of blushing, lots of _italicized words  
_

* * *

Awakening is a trial in itself. Judging from the lack of light against her closed eyes, Sasuke acknowledges that it is the evening, but does not remember when this transition occurred. She feigns sleep, but something gives her away because a low voice breaks into the silence. 

"Sasuke."

The genin opens her eyes to meet those of her teacher's. His features are closed, as always, but Sasuke detects subtle differences. A stiffness in the neck muscles, lips pressed together too tightly under that mask, visible eye alert.

"Where are Naruto and Sakura?" she asks, attempting to sit up. Her torso shivers in protest, muscles spasming. Sasuke groans.

"They are watching our client. I am watching you."

"Pervert," she grumbles, but his tone makes her wary, and she does a quick check of her body. The bandages around her chest have mysteriously moved down to her abdomen to wrap around her ribs. Well, shit.

"Why are you hiding this, Sasuke?" Kakashi pries. He moves closer, and Sasuke starts to develop claustrophobia.

"It's no big deal, they're not broken," she answers testily, deliberately misinterpreting his question.

He frowns. "This is something you should probably tell your teammates."

"It's none of their business," the words fly out quickly.

She knows Kakashi is upset, even though his features do not express it. "There may come a time," he begins.

"I won't allow it."

They stare at each other, until the jounin blinks. "All right. We already ate dinner. Tazuna was kind enough to set aside a plate for you. You will thank him." Kakashi stands up.

"Sasuke…"

"I said I was fine, didn't I?" Her steely words are sharp.

"If you say so." He pauses. "I'm going to check on them," then leaves.

"Right." Sasuke expels a breath she was not aware she was holding. The fluttering that is wreaking havoc in her stomach dissipates slowly, so the raven-haired youth shifts her focus.

Standing is like being sucker punched, and Sasuke has to catch her breath after managing the feat. Cautiously, the genin stretches her limbs. "Kakashi said that Zabuza will be back on his feet in a week." The mist-nin's face flickers across her mind, and she frowns. "He's after our client, so we're after him."

The next days are spent insufferably slowly, hours inching forward through the viscous ticks of time. Team 7 takes turns watching Tazuna while the others train and perfect techniques. By now, tree climbing is second nature; Sasuke no longer needs to concentrate solely on pushing chakra to her feet in order to walk up a trunk.

Tazuna's bridge building, unlike her training, is astonishingly disappointing. Their client is brave, Sasuke acknowledges, but he is surrounded by cowards; everyday, more and more workers leave. Naruto and Sasuke usually help the man with his construction work while on duty, and Sasuke suspects that Kakashi has lent a hand a few times as well, though she has yet to catch him performing this act of kindness. They are not paid for the additional work, nor do they expect it, but their client's gratitude is evident in his generous hospitality.

Sakura, while capable of pulling her own weight in manual labor, instead uses her free time to maintain the household. The first time she lifted planks and carried tools, Tazuna had flushed and protested vehemently against a lady doing "men's work." Miffed, but still polite, the pink-haired genin relented without complaint, and has made herself useful around the man's house since then. She manages to transform a sparse, frugal living area into a comfortable home full of life and warmth.

_("Okaeri," she had once greeted Sasuke and Tazuna while hanging linens, and it took everything in the Uchiha to dispel her mother's smiling face overlapping her teammate's.)_

When not on duty, Sasuke utilizes what she has learned about better chakra control to increase efficiency in consumption. The flames of her _Gōkakyū no Jutsu _burn white and lick at its surroundings with fervor; before, Sasuke could only perform this technique as many times as she has fingers before fatigue seeps into her system. After Kakashi's training, she is able to include Naruto's and Sakura's fingers as well.

Their teacher had looked in on her training once. She had felt him walk up behind her while carefully forming signs, fingers fluid and quick, standing on the shore of a deserted beach. He did not say anything, just silent and observant. The technique steams the water and singes her hair from over-performance, but the Uchiha is steadfast and focused. Her lips are cracked and dry, and the skin around her mouth is beginning to develop blisters. Slowly, the flames ebb; Sasuke takes a moment to breathe deeply before nimble fingers begin flying through formations once again.

"Sasuke," their teacher had interrupted, "Enough."

_("Sasuke," __says her father, having seen enough. "No more."_

_She stops abruptly, eyes downcast. Her fire is weak and pathetic, just about the size of a melon and probably no hotter than the flame from a candle._

_The head of the family's measured steps clunk against the planks loudly, his back turned towards he; his disappointment rings loudly. Quietly, "Sasuke is not like Itachi, after all. I should not expect her to do so well.")_

"This is not a technique to be taken lightly; it can become very dangerous if not handled carefully." He is frowning at her, she knows this because there are harsh shadows under his eye and the bridge of his nose is crinkled in irritation.

Put off, Sasuke frowns back. "Are you saying that I am not capable…?" Her hands are on her hips without her even realizing, and she barely manages to restrain herself from refolding them against her chest.

Kakashi's visible eye glances over her posture, and then it inverts to an upside-down "u" shape. "I did not say that."

_(The skin around her mouth is dry and__ flaky, and not at all how the soft skin of a child should be. A small bandage covers a more severe burn on her chin, when she had ended the jutsu too quickly and caused the flame to combust. _

_She does not notice any of this though; carefully, with great precision, her fingers lock and slide together. The chakra in her belly writhes and surges to her chest, suspends there for an instant, __then streams from her mouth. The flame is almost unbearably hot; her eyes water from the heat and the air turns humid. _

_The jutsu dies out, and Sasuke waits awkwardly. The terrible silence is broken only by her father's footsteps, once again retreating from his disappointment of a child. She cannot stop the few tears that manage to drown her vision, but does not let them fall out. Her head is hanging low, when the echoing steps of her father walking cease. "Truly," she listens, "You are an Uchiha." He leaves her with her cheeks red, grin wide, and eyes sparkling like jewels. That night, her mother sews the clan symbol of the fan onto the back of her clothing.)_

The jounin pats his student on the head in an irritating way; Sasuke swats his hand away. "You're not fireproof," is all he says, before Sakura stumbles into view.

"Sensei, I brought what you asked for." The pink-haired girl holds up a first aid kit.

"Very good, thank you," he answers. "And now for a very important lesson in teamwork. You must always watch out for one another. Never abandon your teammates. Always do what you can to aid them."

The two present students glance at each other before giving attention back to their teacher. "If one becomes injured, it is your responsibility as a teammate to patch them back up." The jounin's gaze floats up to the sky. "Well, I better go check on Naruto. Bye!" A cloud of smoke disrupts their vision of Kakashi, and the skin under Sasuke's eye starts twitching.

"Mou, Sensei, can you be more obvious?" Sakura mutters under her breath before turning to the other. "Um." She turns red.

Oh, for the love of… "Is there any balm?"

"Um. Yes! I um, made sure to put, um, burn salve… err, in before leaving." The red creeps down her neck, and it takes Sakura a minute to realize why Sasuke is standing there looking at her. "Oh! Err, sorry!" She erupts into nervous laughter, opening the kit and pulling out bottles.

Sasuke takes what is offered and unscrews a cap. Her fingers brush the surface of the cream before stopping abruptly. Without a mirror, it would be difficult to cover all the damaged skin.

Her teammate must have realized the same thing, because the cream is taken from her hands and Sakura is already plunging fingers in and saying, "Here, let me."

_(Hands pluck her from the ground while she is running down the hall, and she squeals in protest. Her mother's laughter chimes in her ear, "Silly child! Wait one moment."_

_Obligingly, she watches as her mother opens a small bag and uncaps a bottle. Her fingers dip into a creamy substance, then attack Sasuke's face._

"_Mother!" she cries, because the salve is ice cold against her heated skin. The burns sting for a few seconds, but quickly dies down to numbness; it feels good, and Sasuke leans into her mother's soft touch._

"_There—All finished!" she exclaims, and blows a puff of air at Sasuke's face. "My little Sasuke-chan is so amazing.")_

"Amazing…"

Sasuke flinches violently from her daydream. "What?"

Sakura's expression is startled and her hand is quickly pulled away from the other's cheek. "Did I hurt…?"

"What's amazing?"

The girl's cheeks are flushing pink again. She probably did not realize she said that out loud. "Um, I was just thinking how cool Sasuke-kun is," Sakura stammers. "You're so focused; once you set your mind on something, you go after it with such intensity!" A brief pause, then, "Ah, there! All finished!" Sakura blows on the salve and her hand lingers a beat too long.

"Thanks." She fights the blush creeping up her neck unsuccessfully. Sakura mirrors her.

"Ah, um…"

"It's getting dark."

"Err, yes. We should leave; Tazuna-san and Naruto must be back by now."

They put away the medication in awkward silence; Sasuke moves to stand first, but a hand on her forearm stops her mid-crouch. Sakura is still as pink as her name. "I think Sasuke-kun is amazing," she says, then gives the other the purest smile Sasuke has ever seen.

"…Let's go," as Sakura's hand falls away.

"Yes."

Their shoulders and knuckles brush several times on the way back, but no more words are exchanged. The quiet is broken only when their client's residence comes into view; Sakura moves ahead and enters first, a cheery "Tadaima!" bubbling from her lips.

Naruto enthusiastically greets her back, happy to play house with her. "Sakura-chan, okaeri!" He spots Sasuke a moment later, and says, "Hey, jerk. Okaeri."

The Uchiha ignores him in lieu of sliding off her sandals and into slippers. Naruto growls, and soon Sasuke's vision is filled with lots of orange as the blonde creates a one-man blockade into the residence. "I said," irritably, "_Okaeri._ Are you so deaf that you didn't hear?"

"Are you so stupid that you even ask that kind of question?"

"Why you--! You're so ungrateful!" he spits, eyes flashing. "And to think that I made everyone wait to eat dinner until you came home!"

Sakura fidgets beside him, and Naruto realizes what he just said. "Err, I mean, 'until you came back.' This is gramps' home, eh heh." His hand is nervously scratching at the back of his head, and his team is giving him the oddest expressions that Sasuke decides to spare the idiot.

"Let me guess," coldly. "You want to take a bath with me after, too? Maybe I can wash your back for you. You're such a child." Then as an afterthought, "Retard."

"Oh yeah? You probably only said that hoping I'd agree! Sasuke's such a pervert!" He sticks a tongue out childishly (supporting Sasuke's claim), and she resists the urge to grab it and rip it out of his mouth. Serves him right if she does.

"Hey, now," interrupts the deep voice of their client. "Fighting again?" He looks to their teacher for help; Kakashi remains seated at the couch, nose buried in a book he is not reading, judging from the lack of page turns since Sasuke's and Sakura's entrance.

"He started it!" Naruto instantly exclaims and points to the other.

She crosses her arms and glares in response.

Growling, "Grr, see? He's just asking to be punched in the face!"

"Naruto!" Sakura interrupts this time, "Sasuke-kun is tired! Stop picking on him!"

The blonde's face twists into one of sheer agony. "But Sakura-chan," he whines, "he's being so mean! How can you side with a jerk like him?"

Tazuna tries again. "Children," he begins, and Sasuke wants to slap her forehead in exasperation. Wrong word.

"I'm not a kid!" the blonde idiot yells and bristles. "Stop calling me that, 'cause I'm not, alright?" His eyes flash, teeth bared, and Sasuke notices that he is growling lowly. Huh. A surreptitious glance at Kakashi shocks Sasuke: his one visible eye is clearly lifted from his book, and staring in their direction.

"Does baby have a temper tantrum?" She does not even look at Naruto, eyes fixated on their teacher whose gaze leaps from her teammate to herself. Sasuke is oddly proud when Kakashi's jaw visibly drops; his expression is one she will remember for many years to come. Then again, the pain is something she will remember as well.

One moment she is mentally patting herself on the back for riling an emotion other than indifference in their apathetic teacher, the next she is _lying _on her back, a pain similar to whiplash gripping her neck, and jaw feeling like a crowbar had become intimate with her face. Her face is hot and probably red, not because the intimate "crowbar" left her blushing in passion, but because after ninety _Gōkakyū no Jutsu _incinerate her face, the skin tends to be sensitive and _motherfuckinggod_ it hurts when touched, never mind _punched._

It is the first time dead last had caught her unawares.

"_What the fuck, Naruto!"_ It is also the first time she has heard Sakura swear.

"Nnn," she says inarticulately for the first time as well.

Kakashi apparently wants in on the festivities of Firsts, so he physically reprimands one of his students for the first time too.

There is a blur, and then Naruto joins her on the ground. They manage to sneer at each other, but it is short-lived since Sasuke's jaw is now one giant, blistering bruise and she grimaces in pain. Naruto, on the other hand, is sat on by the jounin. He lashes out, but the way Kakashi is locking his legs over the idiot's arms, it is apparent the attempts are futile. His features seem to relax into his usual expression of unconcern, but Sasuke is watching him, and sees how his back is rigid and hands are loose.

"Get off me, Kakashi-sensei," the blonde snarls. "Sasuke-bastard and I are playing a game right now, and it's still my turn."

"I'll break your nose this time if you keep it up."

Naruto stills, but Kakashi remains as is. "Ridiculous. The both of you." A look is sent to the duo on the floor. "Get past your petty rivalry, or stop wasting my time and just quit being ninja; you'll certainly be doing us all a favor." He focuses his vision on the Uchiha and says, "I expected better from the both of you. I've never been so disappointed in my life."

Sasuke goes rigid, and Kakashi continues. "Tomorrow is an important day. The bridge will be completed; our client will need constant vigilance. I should hope that his life will be guarded by ninja, and not by spoiled, whining children." Naruto's lack of response seems to please him, because the jounin stands. "Go upstairs," he commands to the rivals, stern. "You will eat later; Sakura will bring your dinners. If you cause trouble, this mission will be marked as a Failure, whether we succeed or not, and I will personally send you back to Academy upon our return. This applies to _everyone_. It is high time this squad learns what it means to be in a team."

Sakura looks devastated, and Sasuke feels a twinge of guilt for dragging down the pink-haired girl with them. Naruto is quiet and his face is blank, but his hands are clenched so tight that they are shaking. And Sasuke is just trying not to think about it, because she knows the moment it sinks in will not be pretty.

Naruto does not immediately challenge her when they are alone upstairs like she thought he would. He does not yell at her either; in fact, he does not say anything at all. It is a welcome change from his usual demeanor, but after a lecture like _that _from Kakashi, Sasuke is fairly certain that they were ostracized from the rest of the team in order to make peace. She snorts. Yeah, right.

The raven-haired youth spends a minute tentatively prodding her jaw, which is now swollen and liberally bleeding blood and probably some pus as well. Goddamn idiot fucking punching in the fucking face. She locates her pack and finds a canteen of water, taking a few swallows before pouring some into her cupped hand. Naruto watches her with sullen, rainy eyes.

"You deserved that," he says finally while she washes her face.

Undeterred, "So did you."

He looks confused, so Sasuke clarifies. "Kakashi said, '_I'll break your nose this time_.' What did he break _that _time?"

Naruto holds up his left hand to the other. His pinky is bent at an unnatural angle and swollen red. "What happened?" He indicates to her face.

You happened, you jackass. "Why the hell do you care?" she says instead.

She is almost positive that Naruto is going to jump across the room to pummel her, and that Kakashi will be pounding up the stairs to suspend them, but Naruto surprises her by just glaring at her.

"Because we're teammates?" he growls. "Sakura-chan and I are on your team and we're _here to stay_. Like it or not, we're going to be here and we're going to make one big, fucking happy family together."

She does not want a family. She had one, and it fucking sucks. And when the fuck did Naruto decide he was going to be her brother? She already has a sibling she needs to kill; she does not have time to plan the death of another. "That's lame, even for you. Like I would want an idiot like you to be related to me. It doesn't work like that, anyway." She snorts and turns away; out of the corner of her eye, Naruto withers a little.

His next words make Sasuke strain to hear them. "Says who? You and Sakura-chan and even Kakashi-sensei already feel like family to me."

Sasuke pretends she did not hear those words, and Naruto does not say anything more. Sasuke turns her attention back to her belongings, rummaging for a first aid kit. She kneels and pulls out a few choice items, deciding to be the one to extend the olive branch. A roll of tape is thrown at Naruto; he catches it and stares at her inquisitively.

"At least tape it," she clarifies, nodding to his hand. Tomorrow is going to be dangerous; it will be critical that everyone is in top condition and aware. The thought makes her sag a little as her body remembers the training it endured. "Long day," she thinks tiredly.

Feeling drained, Sasuke leans against the wall and closes her eyes. A soft "Thanks" from the blonde hazily reaches her; Sasuke does not even realize she has fallen asleep until a light, insistent pressure along her jaw forces her to open blurry eyes.

Naruto is squatting in front of her, carefully applying ointment. He is surprisingly focused, fingers ghosting over her skin, and Sasuke shivers as they accidentally brush her lips. Naruto startles and jerks away, peering into her hooded eyes. "Sasuke?" his voice is low. "Did I wake… sorry."

"What," she begins, mouth dry, and stops to licks her lips. They are horribly chapped; Naruto watches her and fiddles with a bottle.

The fingers return to Sasuke's face, this time deliberately aiming for her mouth. A cool balm is smoothly spread over her dry lips; Sasuke is not sure whether the tingling is from the ointment or from Naruto's touch. His thumb brushes her cheek, and she tenses. "Stop," she says and is ignored as Naruto continues to apply salve, fingers dancing against her. Sasuke reaches out and grabs the hand touching her, and glares.

His gaze flickers. "I still need to put on the bandage." He holds it up, and Sasuke takes it from him. She runs a finger along her chin to find the bump, then places the bandage over it. Holding out a hand for tape, Naruto obliges and rips her two small strips to keep it in place.

Finished. They stare at each other, the close proximity obvious now that there is no task to distract them. Naruto is staring at her intensely; Sasuke remembers why they were sent up in the first place, and gives him a grudging, "Thanks." She gets the feeling that he had something else in mind when his face turns into a tomato.

He pushes away. "Yeah, sure." Then, because he is aware of how awkward he looks, questions, "You going back to sleep?"

Sasuke is already on the floor when he asks, pulling her pack under her head as a makeshift pillow. "Mm," she mumbles.

"You're not gonna eat first? Aren't you hungry?"

Starving. "Good night," she answers and rolls onto her side. Sasuke does not fall asleep for many hours afterwards; Naruto stares at her back unnervingly for a long time, but is graciously quiet.

The rest of the night is spent in roaring silence.

* * *

**Translations:**

Techniques:  
_Gōkakyū no Jutsu_– Great Fireball Technique

Tadaima: said when returning (home, work), and can roughly be translated to mean "I'm back."  
Okaeri(nasai): said to the person that returns (home, work), and can roughly be translated to mean "Welcome back." The addition (or deletion) of "nasai" is purely for honorific; including it is more respectful, losing it is more casual.

Small social lesson:  
Japanese children, when talking, sometimes have a tendency to include filler words that roughly translate to, "right?" or "you know?" In _Naruto_, this is seen when Naruto ends sentences with "(dat)tebayo," which the English version translated to "Believe it!" These sayings are used by children as a way to call attention to themselves. Also, they sometimes refer to themselves or even other people in the third person. These habits usually die out as they mature. It should be noted that some adults will refer to themselves or others in the third person as well, but this happens rarely and usually only when speaking to a child. (example[mother to son "Mama loves John _this much_!" as opposed to "I love you _this much_!") Think of these occasions as similar to when an adult speaks "baby talk" to an infant (acoocha choochy-coo!); it's a way of speaking that is exclusive to babies. Similarly, third-person references is exclusive to small children.

You'll be seeing more of these third-person references and childish attention-grabbers as the fic goes on, so I thought I'd give some explanation for the confused.

**Notes:** I'm not trying to be so mean to Naruto—I love the boy, really. But this is from Sasuke's point of view, and at the beginning of the series, Sasuke did not have too much respect for his team, much less Naruto. I'm sorry if the constant putdowns on Naruto are ticking anyone off; in time, those will diminish.

Also, a sorry for being late with this chapter. Real life and all that boring stuff. I made it longer as an apology.

A poll (and warning) for readers:

I'm pretty open on pairings when reading, and even more so when writing. Yaoi, yuri, het, 3-somes, 4-somes, incest, minor… whatever. I think it's pretty obvious that I've already hinted at some pairings in this chapter, so I'm presenting an opportunity to all you readers:

Sasuke X ??

Fill in the blank in your review. : )


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Lengths

Author: MayaMay

Disclaimer: I do not own the _Naruto_ series. It belongs to its respective owners.

Chapter Warnings: language, violence (long fight scene), deviations from actual Naruto plot

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Fog permeates the air, thick as cotton and suffocating. The house of their client is immersed in the white blanket, trapping its inhabitants within. Team 7 is gathered in the kitchen; Sasuke boiling water, Sakura silent at the table, and Kakashi and Naruto standing at the threshold talking quietly. 

"Let… see… nd, Nar…to. I ne…d to perf…m …xamin…tion," the jounin's voice quieter than normal.

There is some movement, but Kakashi's back hinders the view.

"Oww," the voice of her teammate rolls loudly. "Don't do that, it's still sore!"

Apparently their teacher ignores him, because Naruto fidgets and whines some more while Kakashi's shoulders flex minutely underneath his jounin vest.

"…ooks to be… mos… he…led," after a few moments.

Sasuke is not sure why Kakashi bothers dropping the volume; inconspicuousness is a surefire way to draw attention to oneself, especially when in the company of ninja. Not to mention, Naruto's actions are loud enough that even a deaf person could figure out what their private conversation is about. The way the blonde shifts into view from behind Kakashi, cradling a hand and sulking, confirms her thoughts.

"Sensei knows healing techniques?" Sakura reveals that she too had been watching. Then she reveals that she is not as well-informed as the other, when she adds, "What's wrong with Naruto?"

The blonde in question looks embarrassed when he notices that the attention of everyone is on him, and a hand reaches back to scratch at his head thoughtfully. "Ah, um… You know me, Sakura-chan, I'm so stupid! Kakashi-sensei is just fixing me up before we go on our mission. No worries, no worries!" He punches his fists in the air in excitement. Sasuke rolls her eyes, but does not say anything. If he wants look like a fool and pretend to be macho, then so be it.

They wait for Tazuna to emerge from upstairs before leaving the house, Sakura and Naruto in the front and bickering, Tazuna behind them, and Sasuke behind him, with Kakashi at the tail. The walk is relatively quiet until a piercing scream erupts. They all instinctively pull out a weapon, muscles tense and eyes scanning. Sasuke spots the source first: a boy, held to the ground by a gaggle of men, and a woman, presumably his mother, babbling at them and crying. They gesture between her bag and the boy with a knife, swinging it back and forth. "Inari, Inari," she repeats like a mantra, and Sasuke relaxes her posture.

"Just a robbery," she informs, putting her weapon away. "Let's go."

"… 'Go?' How can you just ignore someone in need?" Naruto exclaims, voice incredulous.

Sasuke frowns. "Need I remind you that we have our _own _client to protect?"

He grimaces at her words and clenches his jaw; for the first time since meeting him, Naruto's stare burns with anger and unfathomable hatred.

"You really are a selfish bastard," he says, then disappears in a flurry of motion.

Sakura's stare is unnervingly empty. Sasuke does not look at her, but instead says, "Are we not on a mission?"

"We are," Kakashi's words agree, but his voice sounds bored and easily slides through her body, forming a hollow deep within.

Sasuke waits for the "But" that never comes. Instead, Kakashi simply keeps walking, Sakura trailing loyally with their client guarded between them. The sound of metal striking metal dimly fades in the distance as they move closer to their destination.

It is not long before the incomplete bridge comes into view. Near the middle, the stark silhouettes of two shaded figures disrupt the linear flow of the bridge; two ninja loom ominously, jerking forward into clarity, one idly swinging a large sword, the other obediently following.

"So nice to see you again, Kakashi," sharp teeth bite out, flashing with malice. Black eyes swivel over the group, and he grins. "Looks like I was wrong about the loud one. He isn't stupid at all; in fact, the smartest of all your kids, I'd say."

Sakura steps forward, mouth open to defend their teammate, but Kakashi acts first.

"Now, now, there's no need to flatter me, I understand completely. However, I'm afraid I'll have to refuse you. I just can't take anymore students at the moment," he responds, scratching a cheek and looking absurdly embarrassed.

Zabuza's head throws back at the comment, deep and cutting guffaws slicing through the fog and sending chills down Sasuke's spine. His next words are said with a grin, but without humor and instead scathing and sharp. "Haku? Train under you?" chuckling. "You underestimate him."

The dark haired shinobi blurs, and Sasuke is moving before Kakashi even glances their direction. The clash of their blades echo in the air; Sasuke's kunai is pressed tightly against Haku's, and Sakura is holding a blade as well, the needle she deflected at her feet. Sasuke almost smirks at Zabuza's look.

"Brats got better," he admits.

"You underestimated my students as well," answers their teacher, jovially.

The ex-Mist nin grins again with malice. "Maybe. But they still don't hold a candle to Haku."

As if by an invisible cue, Sasuke is suddenly doubling her efforts to keep the other's blade at bay when he increases his force. They are at a standstill; the momentum needed to throw a punch or kick would take from the locked blades—Moving would result in steely metal in the chest.

A whiff of air from the person in front of her immediately sets her on guard. Laughing…?

Zabuza disappears from her vision, and Sasuke feels her stomach drop when Kakashi curses and blurs. The fog seems to thicken, choking her vision and muting her surroundings. She grits her teeth in frustration, "Where the hell is Naruto?"

In one instant, they are pressing against each other, unmoving and straining, in another, Sasuke is reflexively gathering chakra to her feet to leap away from a barrage of needles, summoned through the half-formed seals of one hand from the boy in front of her. She does not stall, flinging the kunai she was holding at her enemy when he springs forward, towards her.

Instead of dodging, he allows it to embed in his shoulder; the shinobi does not falter and continues to rush, and Sasuke prepares to drop kick him. He ducks low to the ground, and she twists to back elbow him in the jaw for when he turns to grab her. To her surprise and horror, he does not turn, but instead continues sprinting forward. Sakura's scream cuts through the fog like a beacon; Haku is bee lining straight towards her with nothing to obstruct his way.

"_Shit!_" hurling another kunai after him and missing. Her landing is heavy and scrapes her palms and knees badly, but the genin does not notice, scrambling to her feet and dashing after the other.

Kakashi is in front of her teammate, Zabuza's sword embedded about halfway through his arm. Sakura is pale and visibly shaking, completely unaware of the approaching threat.

"Sakura!" Sasuke screams, and Sakura's head snaps in their direction. In that moment, Zabuza rips his sword out from Kakashi's arm and lunges towards her teammate and their client, Kakashi staggering from the pain yet weakly grabbing for the ex-mist nin. Fingers manage to snag a sleeve, and Zabuza's slash goes wild when their teacher pulls hard on the fabric, upsetting the arc of the blade. Sakura cries out when the blade skims across her flesh, but Sasuke knows the wound is superficial compared to the mortal blow she would have received had it not been for Kakashi's disturbance.

They are too close for Sasuke to risk using projectiles—missing could result in decapitating her own teammates—and yet she may as well be miles away from Haku: out of reach is out of reach, whether by inches or yards away. Where is Naruto? _Where is Naruto?!_

The flash of metal in the boy's hands invades her vision; he lets the senbon fly towards their client, and Sasuke can only manage to yell a strangled, "No!" With a burst of chakra she managed to drudge up from _somewhere_, Sasuke leaps forward and tackles him to the ground.

But too late, the needles fly true and straight. Another flash of metal, and then the clanging of steel echoes. The pink-haired genin is panting, eyes wide and arm raised, kunai in her hand, senbon lying harmlessly at her feet, and Sasuke wants to shout in relief.

Instead, she straddles the boy and decks him in the face until he bucks her off. They regain their footing quickly, and begin circling each other. Out of her peripheral are Kakashi and Zabuza, mimicking them, and Sakura, overcoming her shock and regaining a defensive stance over their client.

"You are a strong opponent," Haku's quiet voice says, but Sasuke ignores him. Their other teammate is still startling absent, and she is tense with worry.

"I did not think I would have to use this technique," he continues, "but you have proven yourself worthy." Fingers blur and dance, and Sasuke is not curious or stupid enough to wait for him to finish the technique. Another kunai thrown; this one he catches with one hand, the other still forming seals without its partner. He finishes before she can reach him, and several glassy mirrors spring into existence from the air around them, encircling and enclosing the duo. Haku backs into a reflective surface and melds into it, leaving Sasuke alone.

Her reflections in the surfaces are distorted and strange; she realizes that she is surrounded by ice, but surely it is not that easy…? Experimentally, fingers form the familiar seals for her fire technique. The chakra bursts from her chest and splay out in the enclosure, searing hot and roaring. The ice prison remains in tact, and Haku's voice floats from all directions, "This is not normal ice. Fire cannot melt it, fists cannot break it. I'm sorry, but this is where your life ends."

"Come out and fight me normally," she sneers, eyes darting from mirror to mirror. His blank mask is reflected on each wall, staring and mocking. Sasuke turns slowly, trying to identify which mirror holds the shinobi. The whistling of needles soaring through air alerts her, and the Uchiha barely manages to twist out of the path of the senbon, their sharp points creating holes in her loose clothing. Immediately reacting, Sasuke unleashes a _Gōkakyū no Jutsu _in that direction. Before the flames can even die, pain sears across her back as she is struck with senbon.

Without preamble, the rate of Haku's attacks increases exponentially; there are no pauses between each volley, but instead a constant stream of sharp needles screaming from every possible direction, chasing her like hounds on a scent. Each point is a tiny prick, all combining to create a large burning ache in her muscles; it is all she could do but protect her vitals to the best of her ability.

"I need to get out of this jutsu!" her mind screams, but every time she attempts to break free, the boy is there, flinging her back to the center of the ice prison. It is pure and utter agony, and Sasuke does not even realize the arrival of Naruto until he is literally centimeters away from the ice walls, screaming her name.

"Sasuke! Are you okay? Hang on, I'm coming in!"

"No!" she yells, but is too late, as Naruto is already rolling inside, heading straight towards her. "You idiot!" she seethes, "Now we're both trapped in this jutsu! What the hell were you thinking?"

He bristles at her words and shouts back, "What do you mean, what was I thinking? I was thinking that you were getting your ass kicked and needed help, you fucker!"

"Are you seriously that stupid? Ugh--!" Their argument evaporates in an instant as now both genin are assaulted with senbon. Sasuke spins around, eyes narrowed and searching. One of these mirrors is hiding him…

Beside her, Naruto's fingers form a cross: a multitude of shadow clones erupt and charge at the surfaces, intent on busting their way out. Most of them are disposed of in an instant when a barrage of needles slam into them, but Sasuke notices a flutter of movement at the corner of her eye a moment before it happens. Was it…?

"Naruto," quietly, "again."

He nods in acknowledgement, and creates another barrage of clones. Again, they rush in all directions, and again, are destroyed in a volley of needles. This time Sasuke is certain of what she sees, and sends a wave of fire after her target. She is rewarded with the smell of singed hair. Gotcha.

Naruto creates more without her asking; Sasuke's eyes dart from surface to surface, fingers locking and sliding, chakra pulsating and fire burning. Miss. Miss. Miss. She can almost _see_; without a doubt, eventually she will be able to follow his movements perfectly, but she does not _have _eventually, she only has _now. Kage Bunshin_ consumes a lot of chakra, and it is a miracle that Naruto has managed this many already. Sasuke is already feeling weary; their movements are becoming sluggish and slow.

"Can you do one more?"

"Of course!" Naruto answers, and Sasuke knows that this will be the last time he can perform the jutsu. Before he can gather the chakra, however, Haku's attack interrupts and pierces them, leaving Naruto writhing on the ground and Sasuke barely standing.

"Get up!" she grits out, and locks on to a flutter to her left. Senbon shoot towards the two, and Sasuke rips out a needle from her arm, hitting away the worst of them before physically dragging Naruto to his feet.

"I can't protect your stupid ass forever! _Get up!" _

He whines and rolls to his feet too slowly—another volley coming their way, and Sasuke has to bodily slam him out of the path to avoid being skewered. His head cracks against the ground sharply, then goes limp. Fuck.

Another hint of movement, and she dives for her teammate, sliding away with him against the ground. A few manage to dig in to her flesh, gnawing viciously. Wake up wake up wake up wake up _wake up dammit!_

Sasuke slaps him. Naruto's head whips to the side and he groans. "You need to get out," she tells him when he blinks at her. "Attack from the outside, and I'll attack from within."

He nods at her and stumbles to his feet. A few clumsy steps and _everything suddenly sharpens to clarity, Haku pouring out from a mirror like syrup and racing at Naruto. Chakra she did not know she still had bursts out and burns the shinobi's legs, a fraction of a second _too late, and Naruto is snapped back to the center with a strong kick to the chest, skidding against the ground and cracking the cement. The fog is back, but somehow less volatile and intrusive.

Another wave of deadly needles pierce the air, she dodges most and deflects the rest, then hurls the senbon she is holding at the image that released them. To her surprise, it impacts, the boy's fingers curling around it and yanking it out from his flesh. He seems to regard her for a moment before _almost flickering out of sight, almost, but still there because now she can follow him, clearly, jumping from mirror to mirror in an attempt to confuse them._

_Beside her, Naruto sloshes forward at another try at escape. Their enemy materializes from the ice and dives towards him but Sasuke is already running; a flash of light reveals _a senbon hiding in the shadows, piercing the joint right under her knee, forcing her leg to lock up and causing her to pitch forward. The same knee impacts the ground heavily and drives the needle completely in her flesh; her voice curdles in her throat and she knows that the leg is effectively handicapped and she will not be able to run while the senbon is still embedded.

Naruto's body collides against the ground some meters away from her; Sasuke lurches to her feet, because she (_can__see it, before it even happens, Haku oozing out of the mirror towards her defenseless teammate, and she is the only one that can help him_) is a ninja and knows that being a ninja means surpassing all limits and expectations in order to succeed, and pushes her body into the path of the senbon, uncaring where they connect, feeling them dig into her neck and chest and some even go through her where there is not enough flesh to cling onto, yet she somehow manages to lift both arms and grapple the body flying towards them, swinging it dizzily then releasing it, hearing a loud _crack! _as it collides against the ice and _funny, how is she still standing, after all of that?_ Then, "I don't want to die," quietly yet pitifully, and she realizes that she is crying but does not care enough to stop herself.

Behind her (_he is always behind her_), Naruto is stuttering and his voice is wavery. "Then why did you do that? I didn't want your help! I didn't ask for it, you jerk!"

"Shut up," she says sharply. Then feels bad and explains, "I did not want to die before killing him." _When did Naruto stand up? No, when did she fall? It hurts, she wants to say, I hurt. _"Don't die," she tells him instead, fingers reaching for something to cling onto, finding purchase in that awful jacket of his. He looks down at her and his blue eyes burn her with sadness and innocence and a small touch of anger, her vision is blurring but she swears that they flicker red, if only for an instant, and suddenly she does not know anything anymore except Naruto's arms pulling her body close to his, tight and suffocating and seamless, can feel his tremors and something red burning her, red like his eyes, red like

_Itachi_

then darkness.

* * *

**Translations:**

Techniques:

_Gōkakyū no Jutsu_– Great Fireball Technique  
_Kage Bunshin (no Justsu) ­­_-- Shadow Clone (Technique)

Notes: Oh ho ho ho. Do you hate me? Sorry. I'll try to write the next one a little faster.

Please drop me a review. : )

Edit: I'm still taking pairing suggestions, so feel free to leave your input.


	5. Interlude

Happy (belated) birthday, **jadedone**. A gift, for being a steadfast reviewer and tossing speculations to help me get my creative juices flowing. As it is, this interlude is dedicated to you and inspired by you. : )

Chapter Summary: In which Sasuke manages to miss all the fun, and Kakashi learns what it means to have a daughter.

Chapter warnings: AU from my AU (meaning, side story for my fic), minor(kind of, almost) and NC (since you can't consent while asleep)

Chapter Rating: T/M

**Note**** before reading**: I may lose a few readers in this chapter, so if you don't like the idea of a grown man perving on genin, then stop reading and skip this chapter. It has no significance to the understanding or development of the rest of the story, _Lengths_.

* * *

His students are cute, he thinks not for the first time since meeting them. Though, he would be lying if that was his initial impression of the three. A triplet of brats was what he had immediately coined them as, and was proven correct in his assumption when the Kyuubi container dropped an eraser on his head, the Uchiha survivor did not call him 'Sensei,' and when the sole female stereotyped herself by cooing at the Uchiha kid. 

Kakashi is not exactly sure when he stopped mentally calling them the Brat Pack, because the first few weeks with his students were pure hell. They had barely passed his test, and it was more from pure luck that the Uchiha, whom the Girl worships and follows without question, decided to follow his nature (that is, be a rebellious little snot) and not listen to Kakashi's warning about feeding the Kyuubi container. All luck, really.

Nevertheless, he took them under his wing. Learning their behaviors was very easy. The Girl is a know it all, constantly seeking praise and attention from her higher ups. Brown noser. The Uchiha and the Kyuubi container, surprisingly, had both come up with appropriate names for the other already—Jerk and Idiot. The Idiot is an ambitious fool, not knowing (or not heeding) his limitations as dead last, while the Jerk is a prideful bastard, consequentially making him cocky and sarcastic. They should have been thankful that their Sensei made the effort to overlook their stereotypes, but not even a whisper of gratitude reached his ears.

At least, not until their first real mission. Who would have thought that Kakashi was fool enough to get himself trapped in a simple water prison? But accomplished it he did, and suddenly he was praying to the gods that Brown noser created some elaborate plan to share with her teammates, that Idiot would run up and be a distraction while Jerk manages to pull another A-rank jutsu from his ass to free their sensei. Kakashi had never been more wrong in his life than he was then.

Sakura played defense, while Sasuke did distraction and Naruto transformed to tactician. If Zabuza was shocked, then Kakashi was flabbergasted—after all, this was the first time Zabuza had met them, and Kakashi had already been with them for several weeks now. Brat Pack had changed to simply Brat, and even that term applied to only the student that was most petulant for the day.

Lately, he was having a difficult time deciding between Sasuke and Naruto. The way the two squabbled constantly was beginning to tire him—Really, where are these kids getting all this energy from? And can't they learn to respect their elders, by giving them some peace and quiet every once in awhile?

In regards to Favorite, Sakura was leading by scores of points. The amount of her flirting has decreased exponentially as time passes; Kakashi suspects that it is because she is now in the constant company of her puppy crush, and does not feel the pressing need to compete with others when she has him all to herself. As it is, a Sakura that isn't fawning is surprisingly a Sakura with a wealth of useful information and tricks. Just yesterday she sewed his Jounin vest back together, putting in new insulation where the stuffing was wearing thin. Yes, definitely his favorite student.

He and his Favorite Student are watching the two brats tree climb. Or rather, watching the results of their tree climb. Naruto-brat is already on the topmost branch that can support his weight, waiting for them, while Sasuke-brat is standing at the bottom of a tree. Kakashi frowns at his attitude, and decides Sasuke to be more annoying, handing the title over to the pale boy.

"Yo, Naruto, Sasuke," he greets. "I see you have learned tree climbing well."

"Heh heh, pretty impressive, right?" is the response he receives as the boy stands up then promptly falls. Kakashi has a mild heart attack right then, because relaying the tragic story of the death of one of his students to other teachers does not count when death was not even caused by battle, and bends his knees, ready to jump and catch. When the boy does not continue falling, but in fact _stays as he is, laughing, _Kakashi takes the title of Brat away from Sasuke and gives it to Naruto instead.

He is about to chastise said brat when suddenly the look of shock on the blonde's face is too real, but thankfully Sasuke is there to catch him this time, and Kakashi is once again torn between which of the two is more of a brat, since it is now clear to him that Sasuke was probably waiting deliberately for Naruto to fall so he could show off his own skills like that.

As it is, all thoughts of which brat is brat is roughly pushed aside when Sakura screams in his ear and Naruto shouts, "Sasuke?!" in question, as if the Uchiha meant to plunge to his death. Kakashi is there in an instant, chakra guiding his feet unconsciously as he glides up the trunk and snags the body from the air. The boy is clearly unconscious, judging from his abnormally limp and unresponsive body (and lack of protest at Kakashi's manhandling).

"What's wrong with Sasuke?" Naruto's voice worms its way into Kakashi's head as the blonde practically splutters in his face from worry.

He wants to shrug, but Kakashi has a fairly good guess what is wrong. Instead, he says, "Sasuke's taking a nap, can't you see?"

Naruto gapes at him like a fish, and Kakashi takes the opportunity to walk down the trunk unhindered. His Favorite Student is blessedly silent (no doubt sick with worry), and they begin to walk back to their client's household, Naruto running behind them.

When they arrive, Sakura immediately goes upstairs to prepare bedding, while Naruto searches their packs for a first aid kit. Tazuna is making dinner, but at their entrance, leaves the stove to hover nervously over Kakashi and his burden. "Is he okay? What happened? Did someone attack you? I'll call for a doctor," he rambles, halfway out the door before a hand on his shoulder stops him.

Kakashi is amused yet touched at everyone's concerns over the boy. Had it been anyone else, there would not have been as much of a fuss made. "The brat is fine," he tells their client. "Just over exerted himself. He should be back to normal come morning."

Tazuna nods, slowly returning to the stove. "I'll send Sakura and Naruto down to help you with dinner," he adds before climbing the stairs.

Sakura has a mountain of pillows ready for her beloved when Kakashi walks in the bedroom, and Naruto is pulling from the kit everything from a needle and thread for sutures to medication for warts. "Go help Tazuna," he directs them, and they obey without question, shutting the door behind them and isolating the teacher and his student.

He kicks away the pillows so that only one remains, and moves away the medical supplies with a foot before depositing his charge on the blankets. "Now, let's see what kind of a mess you've gotten yourself into."

One shirt lift later, and Kakashi admits, "That's quite the mess." To be sure, he looks down the genin's pants as well. As far as Kakashi knows, _henge _is impossible to keep active when not conscious, and last time he checked, _Oiroke no Jutsu _was not supposed to resemble the body of a prepubescent female child. He relaxes his chakra on the strange off chance that he is trapped under a paedophile's genjutsu, and when the small mounds of flesh remain persistently attached to his student's chest, determines that this is, in fact, reality.

"Well, then," he ponders to himself, hovering over the unconscious figure, when the youth suddenly grimaces and curls in on herself, choking. In an instant, Kakashi is straddling legs, pressing shoulders back with one hand while the other slits the shirt open with a kunai. The bandages wrapped tightly around her chest are ripped off, and Sasuke's grimace disappears and breathing stabilizes. "Stupid," he chastises the genin. He takes a moment to regard his student: black eyes hidden behind long lashes, small nose, high cheekbones, full lips, long neck, curved waist, beautiful skin, dark hair—and if he thought Sasuke was going to be a sight as a man, well, she would be a knockout as a woman.

"Favorite Student will definitely be devastated by this," he chuckles to himself. Kakashi supposes that he will have to re-label Sasuke from "Jerk" to "Bitch." Hilariously, it is startling appropriate.

Footsteps sound, and he turns his head to the door.

"Sensei?" Sakura's voice calls. "Dinner is ready. Should I…?"

"I'll come down," he answers for her. Giving Sasuke one more glance, Kakashi turns off the light before exiting the room. Outside, Sakura is subtly trying to peer inside; he closes the door before she mentally scars herself permanently.

"Is he all right?" she asks him, worriedly.

No. "Sasuke will be fine. Now, what's for dinner?"

They are just finishing the meal when the hairs on the back of Kakashi's neck begin to rise. "Naruto, Sakura," coldly. The two genin immediately face him with serious expressions. "Stay here and watch Tazuna. Under no circumstances are you to leave him."

They nod, pulling out a weapon and flanking the man. Kakashi slides out of his seat and creeps up the steps like a wraith, silent and deadly.

There is a voice, almost imperceptible, wafting out from the bedroom where Sasuke is unconscious. "…sell her?" it questions.

"…young… money," answers another, and Kakashi does not stall any longer, flinging open the door and loosing a handful of shuriken. The figure over his student has a hand on her naked pelvis, her pants pooled low on her thighs, and is staring at him shocked, but it does not matter, because he is already dead, shuriken deeply lodged in his throat and face.

The other is by the window, ready to leap out; Kakashi is faster, and grabs him by the neck, snapping it single-handedly. He realizes what he has done an instant later, and swears, "Fuck." Should have kept one for interrogation.

Rifling through their pockets reveals them to be most likely civilians: Each are holding a knife and a bag, large enough to hold a melon, or say, a human head. Kakashi looks at them distastefully, before shifting his gaze to Sasuke, features relaxed and thankfully innocent to the proceedings that had just occurred.

Sighing, Kakashi pulls the bottoms up, covering her, then wipes stray blood drops off her body. He rewraps the bandages he took from her chest around her lower torso and pulls the shirt over her head.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto calls.

"I thought I told you to stay with Tazuna?"

"Sakura-chan is watching over him. Who are they?" His eyes dart from Kakashi, to the bodies on the ground, to Sasuke, then back to Kakashi again.

He decides to be direct, for once. "Some desperate fools looking for money."

"Oh." It is disturbingly quiet, and Naruto shifts awkwardly at the entrance for a bit before moving to help his teacher straighten the room. His student easily lifts the two bodies and exits, tactfully closing the door behind him.

Kakashi stares at the immobile Uchiha, running a hand through his hair, frustrated. "If this is what it entails to be a father, then I am never having children," he grumbles. He spends the rest of the night watching her.

When she finally rouses, the first thing she does is look down her shirt; Sasuke glares at Kakashi with wary caution, and he almost laughs at the irony.

"This is something you should probably tell your teammates," he advises her (_safety in numbers_), and receives a scathing reply for his efforts.

"There may come a time…"

"I won't allow it," she cuts in.

He stares at her. You already did.

Goddamn brat.

* * *

**Translations:**

Techniques:

_Oiroke no Jutsu_ – Sexy Technique

_Henge _– Transformation

Notes:

Like I said in the Notes at the beginning of this interlude, this chapter has **no significance on the rest of the story. **I just wanted to write a protective!Kakashi, since **jadedone** has been squeeing over Team 7 dynamics, so I thought I would oblige and do one with Kakashi and Sasuke solely. You can't tell me you don't like the idea of Sasuke being molested in her sleep, in any case. : )

And in case you didn't get it: The strange people were going to kill Tazuna for money, but upon encountering Sleeping Beauty, decided selling the kid to the slave market would be easier and more profitable instead.

Did you like the Interlude? Should I do more? Suggestions for ideas and pairings in interludes, and whether you like them or not would be appreciated. If enough people say they don't like them, I won't add them as chapters to this story anymore, but rather create a "new story" for them to collect in.

Thoughts? Leave me a review and let me know.

Also: Anonymous reviewers, if you would like a response to your reviews, then please leave me an e-mail to contact you at.

--MayaMay


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Lengths

Author: MayaMay

Disclaimer: I do not own the _Naruto _series. It belongs to its respective owners.

Chapter Warnings: "filler" (it was inevitable, deal with it), a lot of dialogue, a lot of repetition, graphic violence

* * *

Her leg hurts. But more so than that is a tight, constricted feeling in her chest. Before her are her shuriken, scattered and embedded in the ground; her weapons holster shredded to uselessness an arm's length away. 

Someone pokes her in the back. She swivels her head in that direction.

"Hey," says her tormentor, conversationally, "You're a girl, right? Clean that mess up, okay?"

Her eyes begin to water in response.

"Aw geez, she's _crying_? What a sissy; c'mon, let's just _go _already," whines the lookout.

He joins the other and they leave, voices dimming as the distance increases. "What's with girls these days anyway?" one bemoans, before completely fading from hearing.

She sits there a few moments more, before crawling on her knees to gather her projectiles into a small pile beside her.

He finds her, hours later, shuriken messily stacked on the dirt road, and his sister mute next to them. Kneeling, he takes the weapons into his own pouch first before gathering her onto his back.

"Itachi," his name a psalm, and she clings to him, burying her face into the red fan on his shirt.

He carries her; the silence is broken only once when Itachi says, "Little sister, don't enroll in Academy."

She does not respond, and he does not say more.

Their arrival at the compound causes a flurry of activity. She waits for her mother's comforting embrace to take her to safety; instead, softly graying hair and stern features swim in their vision.

His eyes sweep briefly over her state before saying, "Come with me," and turning away. He leads them into a sitting room and settles himself on a cushion before them. Itachi places his sister on her own mat before seating himself.

"My son," begins their father, "An imperative day for us approaches. And yet I hear that you wish to disgrace our clan by turning away the mission. Explain your behavior."

She turns wide eyes to her brother, confused by their father's words.

He does not even twitch, much less react to the accusation. Calmly, "More so than that, father, but perhaps you should open those proud eyes you boast so much about and see what is directly in front of you."

Red eyes snap in her direction, just for a second, just for an eternity, and she wills herself to not shrivel under that stare. Suddenly, she is acutely aware of her mussed appearance: tangled hair, disheveled clothing, dried tear tracks shaming her features…

"That is not important," he answers, fixing his attention back to his son. "Tomorrow morning, you will meet with the Hokage and inform him of your err in turning away the mission. He will reinstate you." With those words, their father abruptly stands and leaves.

The two stay for a moment longer, before Itachi slides off his mat and pulls her into his arms. In her bedroom, he is wrapping her ankle when she breaks the silence.

"I am going."

He pauses, gaze moving from her wounded leg to her puffy eyes.

With conviction, "I want to be strong."

"Then, show me your strength," a ghost of a smile.

That week, she is enrolled in the Academy, and Itachi leaves for his mission.

All information presented to her she drinks with a parched thirstiness. Her progress is astounding; the grade reports cannot accurately represent her learned knowledge, her scores marking the highest in both the class and Academy.

When she presents the card to her father, he takes a moment to peruse the numbers before speaking, "Continue as you are, so that you may one day be like Itachi."

"Like Itachi," she repeats. A foreign feeling passes over her, lingering for a beat. "Always Itachi," to herself.

The day her brother returns from his mission, he is Anbu. Their father greets him at the door. "As expected of my son," he says with pride. Itachi simply nods, and she burns at his apathy for an instant, before catching the strange emotion and smothering it.

Unsettled, she wanders the halls until the sound of humming in the kitchen causes her to pause. "Mother," she thinks, but when the woman turns in question, realizes she had said it out loud. Her head is buzzing, and she is stricken with the desire to make it stop.

Without preamble, "What does father think about me and my brother?"

"Such a serious question!"

"The only name he ever calls is 'Itachi!'"

Her mother leans to her youngest child, carefully disentangling the lines of discouragement and doubt. "Perhaps the only name you ever hear is Itachi's," she answers softly, "But to me, alone with your father, the only name I ever hear is yours."

Because the concept is so bizarre, she cannot help but ask, "Really?"

A bigger smile. "Really really."

Elated, "Then, I will make him proud to say that name!"

Intent on training, she rushes towards the entrance for her sandals when she suddenly collides with a hard body. Her brother stares down at her, and she cannot help the frown and words that spring from her mouth at his appearance, still moody. "Father favors you."

He seems unperturbed by her outburst. "Do you despise me for it?"

No_Yes_ her mind conflicts confusedly.

He does not wait for an answer. "To be great means to sacrifice. Strength comes at a terrible price. Sasuke, it is good if you despise me. You will see why we are siblings; the fates have not been kind to us."

His words are baffling; she wants to say something, but her throat is dry and no sounds leave her body. "Itachi," she manages, but is cut off by a shout.

"Uchiha Itachi, by order of the Konoha Police Force, you will exit the premises immediately."

Her brother scowls and stands abruptly, not even stopping to put on his sandals before sliding open the door at the foyer. The presences of three men domineer the entry way, their features on guard and eyeing her brother with caution.

"Uchiha Shisui is dead," one says without preamble, "By suicide drowning."

"Shisui-san?" the name echoes in her mind. There is half a moment's silence before the man continues.

"Only two people did not attend yesterday's meeting. Upon investigation, we discovered the body of Shisui half-submerged in a river, with this in his pocket." Itachi takes the folded paper that is held up, reading it quickly. The police observe his lack of expression carefully. "It has been confirmed that this note was indeed written by Shisui."

Her brother does not answer, and they become visibly riled. The white-haired man leans forward threateningly, speaking loudly, "Shisui has always had pride for the family; he was someone who would do any mission for the clan. I doubt a man like him would leave something like this behind and die." He regards the other for a moment before adding, "Those with sharingan are able to perfectly imitate the handwriting of others'."

His implications are obvious, and she bristles at the accusation. "Brother was on a mission until this morning!" she snaps, and immediately regrets those words when three pairs of red eyes are fixated on her, startled by her outburst. Itachi's gaze remains locked onto the ground before him.

"The Hokage has stated that Uchiha Itachi had returned from his mission two days ago."

"That's not true," she begins, but is interrupted.

"Little girl, go back inside and play with your toys. This is men's business," the one nearest her sneers in annoyance.

Cowed, she slides a foot back to retreat, when Itachi speaks. "It is not wise to judge someone by your preconceptions and their appearances." He lifts his head, and they tense from his appearance; she realizes that his eyes must be swirling red to provoke that response.

"You are suspicious of me?" he asks.

"Don't think you can get away with betraying—" The words are cut short as they are suddenly meters away, clouds of dust rising from the ground where their bodies collided and skid. Itachi trails after them slowly.

"As I've just said," his voice is low, "Do not judge others simply by your preconceptions and judgments of their appearance." He stops before their sprawled forms. "You presumed I had patience; you failed to measure your own capacities, and you failed to see the depth of my capacities."

The white-haired man lifts himself up with his elbows. "Shisui was told to keep an eye on you," he says. "They say that you and he were close, almost like brothers. What exactly are you thinking? You've changed so drastically in such a short time; do you not care for the reputation of the clan?" Harshly.

"The clan, the clan," Itachi repeats back angrily. "You hold onto these _things_ that limit our capacities—these foolish things that are of no worth or value…"

"Stop, Itachi." Their father is suddenly there, looming over the others with a look of apprehension. "You are acting strangely. What is happening?"

"I am as I always was. Nothing is happening."

"You did not attend the meeting; such indolence is not typical of you. Explain yourself."

"Why?" Itachi regards the question for a second before answering. "In order to reach the height of my capacity…" In that instant, a kunai flashes in his hand before embedding into the concrete perimeter surrounding the compound, its point piercing the center of their clan's symbol. Then, "This clan is pathetic, a hindrance."

The lines in their father's face deepen. "Enough. If you continue as you are, we will have to take you to jail, regardless of whether or not you are my son."

They are all standing now; Itachi stiffens almost imperceptibly, and fear suddenly clenches her body. "Brother, stop!" she cries.

Perhaps not so much her words as her voice causes him to pause then fall to his knees, eyes restored to the original dark shade and dropped to the ground. He leans forward, and soon his head is bowed low, like a servant before his master. "Forgive me," his voice trails, and she is alarmed to hear such blatant lack of emotion. "For the words I have spoken, I am deeply sorry. But it is not I who has killed Shisui."

Time freezes. Then, "Please forgive my son."

"Captain," begins one, but stops abruptly.

"His obligations to Anbu are very taxing; lately he has been worn out. I will look over my son with full responsibility." He bows in supplication.

They nod, then with one more glance at the Uchiha on his knees, exit together, leaving the family.

Their father is already walking towards her, eyes shut, when he says, "Come inside, Itachi."

At first, her brother does not even move. Slowly, his head turns, red gaze blazing into the back of their father. The malice in his eyes terrifies her, but the appearance of his sharingan is even more alarming: in place of the three swirling tomoe is instead the blades of a shuriken, razor-sharp with malevolence, pitch black like a void and surrounded by the burning red fires of hell. It is an image she will never forget.

--

Her senses are oddly muted and dull, her body lethargic. But somehow, she can tell…

Someone is crying.

Awareness fills her as slowly as honey poured into a bottle. First is the wetness pooling at her shoulder, coupled by a heavy weight leaning into it. The mass jerks and shifts frequently, jolting her body in a miniscule yet painful manner.

A voice is saying, over and over like a mantra, "Help him, help him, Sensei," sobbing.

The response comes at a distance, muffled as if the head of the person is turned away when speaking. "I am not a medic-nin; I do not know healing jutsu. Even so, it would be impossible, Sakura."

Sakura. Sakura. Sakura Sakura Sakura _"Sakura"_ Sakura.

Her eyes slit open and she tries not to whine when she says, "Sakura… you're hurting me."

The shaking stops. _"Oh god," _whispers the voice on her. "Oh god, _I'm dreaming." _ Quivering fingers map her face, brushing cheeks, dancing across lips, ghosting eyelids; lips follow the paths of those fingers, and she does not push Sakura off, but instead lets her touch, revel, cry, _feel._

The crunching of footsteps approach, and a hand on the shoulder of the kunoichi. Sakura lifts herself up, fingers clenching at air, still crying, and bleeding heavily, her clothing torn into strips to wrap around her middle, where blood continues to seep into the makeshift bandage and dribble down her right side.

"What happened?" she wants to ask, but then something slides under her back and legs and lifts her. The motion makes her feel nauseous, and suppressing the urge to vomit tightens her throat muscles and causes her to groan in pain.

"Don't talk," Kakashi advises, looking pointedly at her throat, "Or the movement of the senbon may kill you for real this time."

He said, _"For real this time." _The words echo strangely. Meaning, she did not really die. Or maybe she did, but was brought back to life. Or, maybe she is still dead and someone is just having a laugh right now.

"I'm not dead," she confirms.

Kakashi peers down again with mismatched eyes. "You're not," agreeing.

She lets darkness overtake her vision once more.

--

The moon is anxious. It hides behind clouds at every available chance, loathing each time it is revealed to the open sky, red, as if ashamed to be witness to the events on earth.

She sits in her room watching it with unseeing eyes, absorbed in her thoughts. A flicker of light outside her window catches her attention: someone is in the living room. Curious, she silently moves to the door and exits the bedroom.

Soft murmuring wafts through the paper screen when she arrives; she can hear her father's voice, stern as always.

"She is the backbone that connects this family to the village," he says.

"I don't know why you keep saying that; using your own daughter like a bargaining chip? How absurd!" her mother whispers back harshly.

"She will be a useful connection in joining our family with another powerful one," is the reply. "Though she will no longer carry our name, she is still essential in allying with other clans."

"Fugaku…!" her mother exclaims, disturbed. "Your own daughter…"

He continues, ignoring her. "She has learned _katon_ jutsu already, hasn't she? Faster than Itachi, even. She is a true Uchiha woman; soon enough, she will wed. We must be prepared…"

She leaves, not wanting to hear more. The night air is chilly, sending shivers running through her body. In the main district, her uncle is lighting the lanterns, and her aunt wrapping their wares.

"Child, it's so cold outside! Come here for a moment," beckoning.

She obliges, and is rewarded with a steaming bun of anpan.

"Auntie, thank you," she smiles, warmed by both the pastry and the kindness.

Her uncle approaches, eyes crinkling. "Now _there's _the beautiful smile that belongs to my niece. Did you come to steal as many treats as possible from us while we closed shop?" he teases. "Cherish that one you have, because Auntie will be cracking the whip on me to make more tonight!"

"Uncle!" she laughs. "I am going to train," she adds for clarification.

They both frown at those words. "Isn't it too late to be training?"

"I want to be stronger!" she replies.

Her aunt laughs. "Now, don't train too hard, or else you'll turn into a boy!"

"I won't," she calls, already dashing away.

"Don't stay out too late," her uncle calls, "It's dangerous at night-time!"

She waves in response, and they disappear from view.

At the training ground, she earnestly tries to focus on the targets, loosing her weapons with deadly accuracy. It is after she has exhausted her kunai to move onto her shuriken that she pauses. The points remind her of Itachi's strange sharingan, lacking the usual tomoe to instead reveal a throwing star in the center of the eye.

_("Are there different types of sharingan?" she had asked her father during breakfast._

_He had regarded her for a moment before answering. "There is a sharingan called the Mangekyo Sharingan. Only a few have been able to develop that legendary jutsu; it is said that it can only be awakened under special conditions.")_

"_Only a few have been able to develop it," _she repeats. She wonders if that is why Itachi's sharingan looked different. The possibility that Itachi has developed this legendary jutsu makes her swell with pride and jealousy all at once. Yet another example of her brother's amazing genius; yet another milestone she will have to reach.

Put off and thoroughly frustrated, the half-hearted attempt at training is ended abruptly. Gathering the thrown projectiles, a quick glance up reveals the once-shy moon now shining with an unnatural brightness.

"Out late," said to herself, hurrying down the dirt path. A shadow flickers across the moonlight, causing her to look up; however, the sky is empty of any disturbances, surprisingly clear in spite of the earlier cloudiness. She frowns, a shiver making its way down her spine. The expectant gaze of the moon unsettles her.

Not one to doubt her instincts, she creeps in the shadows, edging her way towards the residential area of the compound. What she encounters causes her limbs to lock in place, freezing her mobility: the door of her uncle's house ripped off its hinges, and just inside the entrance is a pool of blood, a lone arm clutching a sword settled in the middle. Jerkily forcing her body forward reveals the rest of the body of her uncle several meters away.

Panic starts to grip her as realization sinks in. The houses in the compound are not spread far apart; surely others would not stand idle while a neighbor is in dire need of help? Looking across the road shows a ruined rooftop, shingles broken on the ground and upper floor windows slashed open by a strong arm and sharp blade. She runs down the street, desperate, eyes shifting from side to side for any unmarked house and finding none. The level of destruction increases drastically as she nears the center; bodies begin to litter the path before her, some still bleeding.

"No no _no no no_," her mind chants as she tries not to sob. She tries not to look at the passing bodies, but her eyes automatically lock onto the features, identifying the person and providing a long list of names for the deceased.

The closer she gets, the more savage and wild-looking the slashes are. As the top of her house comes into view, a feeling of dread floods her. "Please… Please not my family," terrified.

"Oh, child," whispers a weak voice, and she spins to confront it. Uncle is dead, torn almost in half at the abdomen, and Auntie is sprawled on top of his legs, covered in blood.

"Auntie," she nears the elderly woman, and chokes when she is standing above her. A kunai is lodged deeply into her skull, the handle showing only a few centimeters from the matted hair.

She touches her aunt's hand and receives no reaction. She realizes that she has just died.

Her house looks no different from how she left it. Cautiously, she slides open the door, expecting bloodshed and three dead bodies. Instead, pairs of carefully arranged shoes greet her, an evenly spaced rug at her feet, and immaculate sitting room waiting for an outside disturbance to ruffle its cushions. Toeing off her shoes, she enters the house. Nothing is out of the ordinary.

"Dreaming…?" she wonders in a daze. She pauses momentarily at her room when a shuffling sound wafts through the hallways. Listening closely, and it sounds again. Her parents' bedroom. Suddenly, all she wants is the comforting presence of her mother to chase away the nightmare, uncaring of how childish it will make her seem.

The sound of talking is heard outside their room; she wonders why they are awake so late at night. "Please, please," says her mother, except the tone is strange and oddly loud; she has never heard her mother's voice sound so anxious before.

A loud _thunk _and a half-gurgle, half-groan, followed by loud sobbing, stops her in her tracks. What…? It feels like a horror movie; everything seems to slow around her as a shaking hand touches the door handle, pulling it open.

The room is dark, but she is able to see a silhouette on the ground before her. "Mother?"

The crying abruptly stops, and the silhouette shifts. _"Oh god—Please, not my baby girl, please, please, she's your si—"_ Something gleams for an instant, and part of the silhouette detaches from the rest. It hits the ground a few times before rolling to a stop further into the shadows.

She does not have time to process what has just happened, as the swish of cloth approaches her. She can only watch dumbstruck as it advances; her brother steps into the muted moonlight, and her mind screams at her to pay attention while the rest of her body seems to sag in relief.

"Itachi," she starts, and is answered with sharp pain to her shoulder. A shuriken is lodged into the door behind her. She stares at him with wide eyes. "W-What are you doing?" she stutters. "Some… somebody… o-our…" trailing off, finally noticing the red staining his clothing, the red on his drawn blade, the red pooling around their dead parents, the red of his eyes. "Why?"

"Foolish little sister." His pupils widen as he speaks, coalescing with the surrounding tomoe. She watches, frozen in fear, as his strange sharingan forms, then sucks her into darkness.

She is outside.

"Am I… was it a dream?" The night is dark, but there is still enough light from the lanterns to show clean roads and quiet houses. Taking a step forward, and she realizes that she is not wearing any sandals. Something heavy is flung at her back, and she spins to chastise. A head stares back at her, its deaf ears awaiting sharp words.

Another collision, this time an arm. Legs, feet, fingers, teeth, bodies, torsos, blood, shredded clothing, falling from the sky, raining a horrible red, and Itachi dancing by all of them, orchestrating it all with cool indifference coloring his features. A large body topples her onto her stomach, and before she can push herself up, another falls on top, then another, and another, and suddenly she is buried beneath the sticky flesh, breathing in death and drowning in lost life. She screams and claws at the deceased, managing to shove a small opening to pull herself halfway out, then vomits when Itachi slams a kunai into the jaw of a man, his teeth ripped out of his mouth from the impact and rebounding off her, the metal of the weapon sinking deeply.

Her hands slide against the blood on the flesh of her relatives as she tries desperately to drag herself out. Fingers find purchase in a ripped shirt and pull, freeing hips then thighs then finally feet as she rolls away and gasps from exertion and horror. Itachi takes that moment to slash a deep cut into her back, and she cries in pain. The blade pierces her forehead when she rolls, and he pushes forward until the hilt is resting against her skin, and she can only stare at him in shock as white starts to flood her vision.

Cool wood presses against her cheek, and Itachi is standing in front of her. She is sweating from the nightmare, tremors overtaking her body, paralyzing her. Her mouth works slowly to form words. "Why… did you…?"

The response is clipped. "To measure my capacity."

The words sink. "Measure your capacity… That's all?" Rage begins to boil within her. "That's… the only reason you killed everyone? _For that?"_ Not even thinking anymore, she is on her feet and flying towards him, but he is quicker, has always been quicker _(will always be quicker) _and knocks her away easily. He draws his sword, and the memory of the curved blade fully embedded into her skull surfaces. She flinches and bolts out the door.

"I'm scared," her mind tells her. "So scared," stumbling outside. He intercepts her easily, forcing her to stop with merely his presence alone.

"You can't be my brother," she realizes. "Itachi, he…" desperately, to no avail.

"I humored you, to see if that potential lies within. I found that you despised me," he smirks.

Despise? Yes… with all her heart and soul, every fiber of her being,_ despising him._

"For that reason alone, Sasuke, I will let you live, because like me, you also have the capacity to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan. And in order to do so, you must kill your closest friend."

Her thoughts buzz tenaciously. "Shisui-san…"

"It is thanks to him that I was able to obtain this _eye_." His sharingan morphs, and she is sucked in once again. Another weight collides against her back. He runs his blade through her and the body behind her; she does not bleed, but the corpse behind her dribbles passing life into her clothing. Itachi pulls them both closer to him. "At the temple of the Nakano Shrine," he begins, almost casually, "On the far right side, under the seventh tatami mat, you will find what purpose the doujutsu of the Uchiha clan originally served. Open your eyes to the truth, Sasuke. If you do, there will be the reason I let you live. Otherwise," he twists the blade and she screams in pain, "it is not even worth my time to kill a pathetic person like you, my foolish little sister."

The blood pounds in her ears, but Itachi's words somehow worm their way to the front, branding themselves into her mind.

"If you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life, little sister." He fixes his gaze on her, the mangekyou spinning wildly, burning red. "And someday, when you have the same _eyes _as I do, _come before me._"

He yanks the weapon free; her consciousness fades white, and she knows no more.

* * *

**Translations****, techniques, and a history lesson:**

_Anpan_ – snack food: bun of bread filled with sweet red bean paste.

_Katon (jutsu)_ – fire (techniques)

_Doujutsu_ – eye techniques

_Tomoe_ – There is no literal translation, so I'll just explain what it is. Appearance-wise, tomoe are those black commas you see in the sharingan. As to what it is exactly, it's just a shape. And while the word "tomoe" may not have much meaning, the shape is actually loaded with significance. The shape of tomoe is like that of a magatama, which are spiritual beads that represent the human spirit (plug: anyone play _Phoenix Wright?_ The jade jewel on the necklace Maya wears is called a magatama). Wearing a magatama means to gain protection from the gods.

As it goes, in the story of Amaterasu (the sun goddess), magatama are used to help lure Amaterasu out of a cave that she had shut herself in. Magatama, along with the kusanagi (legendary sword of Orochi, a seven headed serpent slain by Susano-O), are given to Amaterasu by her brother Susano-O as an apology to be passed down to her descendents as proof of their divine right to rule. (plug: _Okami_, anyone? The whole game is based off of these characters.

Notes and a challenge:

Sasuke's name is very significant in this chapter, especially at the beginning (in terms of supporting one of the themes to this story). I'll give you some hints as to why: Look to see when I actually used the name in the flashback. What does a name mean (why do we have names? )? What does having a name do for a person?

Have a try at providing a thoughtful response, and you may just get a small gift. ; )


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Lengths

Author: MayaMay

Disclaimer: I do not own the _Naruto _series. It belongs to its respective owners.

Chapter Warnings: language, filler (again, I know, I'm sorry), major deviation from canon, spoilers for Kakashi Gaiden

* * *

Something wet is dragging across her skin. Bleary eyes crack open to see a dark shape beside her. As her vision focuses, details become apparent. Long, black hair. A light touch. Female. Mother…? 

As the cloth passes over a tender area, she shudders. "You're awake," her mother says, in a voice that is not her mother's. "How are you feeling?"

Sasuke can only stare at her not-mother while her mind whirs. The woman takes in her dazed expression, and continues wiping her body with the wet cloth.

"Your friend has been worried sick. Hasn't been sleeping, barely eating… Hopefully, your recovery will help put his mind at ease, hm?" Her eyes crinkle as she smiles.

She stupidly realizes that the shirt she is wearing is not her own, and more so than that, but that the woman has been washing her with said shirt lifted up the entire time. Panic shoots through her body, and Sasuke jerks when the hand returns with the tepid fabric.

"W-what…" Her voice is rough, throat both sore and itchy, leaving her with the urge to scratch at it.

"Your sensei carried you here," she supplies. "He and Naruto-kun are in Inari's room right now. The poor man collapsed the moment the doctor finished examining all three of you, and has been sleeping on and off for hours ever since."

Something in that statement causes her to frown. "Three?"

Not-mother nods. "Your sensei, you, and _her_," she answers, tilting her head towards somewhere behind Sasuke.

The Uchiha rolls in the indicated direction and stops breathing for a moment, while the woman continues to dab at her. Pink hair neatly pulled back on the pillow, relaxed features, and the steady rise and fall of a torso wrapped in fresh bandages greets her.

"She's been out cold this whole time," the woman explains.

Sasuke is beginning to wonder what the hell happened. "Naruto?" she asks.

"I'll tell him to come as soon as I'm done here," the woman answers, and receives a small nod in response. Soft hands flit across her body, dabbing and cleansing. Black eyes watch her movement, the way she wrings out excess water, the way she gently pulls away bandages to lightly swab at wounds, and the way she just as carefully replaces them with fresh, sterile bandages. She is thorough, washing each and every finger, then all the way down to the smallest toe. When the woman finishes, she carefully pulls Sasuke's shirt down and tucks a thick blanket around her prone figure. "Now, doesn't that just feel refreshing?"

Sasuke nods again, more so out of politeness than agreement.

The eyes crinkle again. "I'll bring your friend," she says while standing. The door slides shut at her exit, leaving Sasuke alone with her thoughts and a disabled Sakura.

Sasuke watches her teammate breathe, taking in her appearance. "She looks like she's sleeping," she thinks to herself.

"Like she's just about to wake up, right?" adds a nearby voice. Suddenly, her senses are filled with Naruto. His arms reach around to envelop her, his body leans to encompass her, but he does not touch her, conscious of her wounds, and instead hovers, pain and relief swimming in his features. "God, Sasuke," he says, "Thank god. I… I don't know what I'd do..." His bright blue eyes begin to fill. "Thank god," a hitch in his breath that time.

"Worried for me," her mind tells her. The skin under his eyes is dark, and the arms supporting his body weight tremble minutely. She is suddenly filled with the desire to comfort him. Fingers twitch expectantly; her elbow bends slowly, and digits lightly graze the wrist above her shoulder. "I'm here," she answers. "I'm all right."

He regards her for a moment longer, then Naruto shifts away so that there is space between them once again. "It's been almost two days," he reports. "Sakura-chan hasn't woken up yet." He scrubs at his eyes irritably before adding, "And Kakashi-sensei exhausted his chakra. He's at least gotten up a few times already, though."

"You and Sakura-chan are in the guest bedroom for the doctor's convenience. When we brought you here…" he hesitates, pensive, "Well, let's just say it wasn't very pretty, okay?" Naruto grimaces at the memory.

"Where…?"

Cutting in, "Tsunami-san's house. Y'know, the woman and kid that were being robbed?" He perks up suddenly. "You're such a lucky bastard, you know?" Cheekily. "You wanted to leave 'em alone, but it's thanks to me being totally awesome that you now have a nice, warm place to stay—Really!"

The gang of men. The woman and her son. Her hazy mind clears a little at the memory. The hospitality they are receiving from a stranger makes sense, but something persists in the back of her mind. Why here? Why not with their client? She is suddenly afraid to know the truth.

"What about… Tazuna?"

Magic words that manage to deflate the effervescence of the boy before her. "Dead," says the blonde dully.

She stares back and echoes, "Dead."

"That's what I said, didn't I?" waspishly. Then, realizing the undeserved anger, "Sorry." Naruto sighs and fidgets before continuing. "Zabuza… he… After you were ki-killed," he chokes on the word, "It's kinda fuzzy for me still, y'know? So yeah, Kakashi-sensei summoned some nin-dogs to hold 'im in place while he formed this one jutsu," he waves a hand vaguely. "Anyway, it never connects. One second I'm fighting Haku, the next he's just _gone, _you know? He took the killing blow for Zabuza. Sensei's hand went right through his chest, and _that guy just laughed, Sasuke. _He just… laughed, then dispelled Kakashi-sensei's nin-dogs and went for Tazuna-san. He didn't even _care _that Haku gave his life for him."

Dead. Their client is dead—Has died. That means that they failed. Their first real mission a Failure. Returning to Konoha as Failures. Failed the mission. Failed Konoha. Failed herself. Failed the clan…

"Sakura-chan tried," Naruto cuts in unknowingly, "But his sword is so goddamn big and sh-she's so little… Went right through her, about a palm's width into her right side." He gives a small smile, "But you know what? She's incredibly strong; bleedin' all over the place and all she could think about was the mission. And then when she found out what happened to you, she wouldn't leave your side. It's a good thing you woke up when you did, ya bastard, otherwise she'd have died from blood loss right then and there."

_(Sakura lifts herself up, fingers clenching at air, still crying, and bleeding heavily, her clothing torn into strips to wrap around her middle, where blood continues to seep into the makeshift bandage and dribble down her right side.)_

Naruto rubs his eyes once more; they are red-rimmed and dull. Almost two days, and he has not slept at all. The pit in her stomach grows. "Rest, Naruto," Sasuke says.

"I can't," the answer is quick, looking suddenly alert. "What if…?"

Sasuke finishes for him. "Sleep here. I will wake you if there is trouble." He frowns at the response. "One tap, danger. Two taps, all clear," she continues.

Another hesitation, then he relents. "Thanks," he says, posture slouching. He settles himself against the wall an arm's length away, acting as an obvious barrier between the two genin and the door. It does not take long until his breathing shallows, and Sasuke is left alone in consciousness. The Uchiha turns her head to watch their third teammate, vulnerable in sleep. She wills the hidden green eyes to flutter open.

Night crawls forward, and passes just as slowly. Kakashi appears at dawn. Without a word, he positions himself opposite of Naruto; Sasuke allows her exhausted body to shut down.

Those eyes never opened.

A soft, but insistent shaking awakens her. Eyes crack open, and Naruto's worried face greets her.

"Sasuke…?" he tries, as if unsure of her consciousness.

Her body is on _fire._ Her muscles are stiff, burning with deep ache; Sasuke feels like one giant, sore bruise. "Ow," she tells him, and he recoils instantly, hands flung up as if burnt.

"I'm sorry!" throatily. "I didn't want to wake you, only Sensei told me to get everything ready and I finished packing our bags so the only thing left was to get you and Sakura-chan prepared and since she's knocked out I thought it'd be easier to take care of her last…" he babbles.

"We're leaving?" the genin interrupts him, frowning.

"Yeah, the bridge is finally done."

Surprise washes over her. "But you said Tazuna…"

He smiles, wearily. "The villagers… realized their cowardice. Tazuna's death inspired them, I guess. They picked up his blueprints and have been working on its completion ever since." He gives a toothy grin, "Even beat off a couple mercs, too! You wouldn't think a couple of villagers would be scary until you were staring at hundreds of angry faces holding weapons and torches. Just goes to show that even if you don't know how to wield a sword, doesn't mean you still can't use one!" He chuckles to himself, whiffs of air ghosting her skin.

Sasuke is suddenly aware of the arm around her shoulders, how close Naruto's face is to hers, and that she has somehow come to a sitting position. Flustered, she grabs the blanket pooling around her stomach and lobs it at the boy, receiving a startled squawk for her efforts. "What are you doing?" she exclaims, panicked. Henge henge henge henge henge!—an enthusiastic puff of smoke marks the change. "This shirt is big," her mind whirs quickly, "And I'm underdeveloped. Plus, Naruto's as attentive as a brick. No way he'd have noticed."

"What do you mean, 'What am I doing'!?" the blonde bites back irritably, albeit muffled due to the blanket. "What the hell are_you _doing?" tugging the fabric off.

"Don't touch me without my permission!" Sasuke regrets those words the instant they leave her mouth.

"Geez, who knew you'd be such a _princess_," Naruto grumbles. "Requesting permission to lift your invalid ass up, _Princess Sasuke_."

His words hit a little too closely. "Just… hand me my bag," tersely, palm out.

The blonde appears apprehensive to possible motives, but he complies regardless. With some embarrassment, she takes out a shirt and pants, then pulls the borrowed shirt off. "Henge is up, henge is up," she reminds herself, but Naruto's stare feels as if he can see right through the illusion.

A troubled expression crosses his features. "They might scar," he says.

A vain part of her is upset with the revelation, but she crushes it in an instant. "It doesn't matter," Sasuke responds brusquely. "We're ninja, it is inevitable."

"Um, right." He sounds unsure, and is avoiding her gaze.

Sasuke takes the opportunity to lift up the blanket trapping her legs, and discovers with even more mortification that she is wearing woman's underwear. The discovery brings about a sudden realization: _Naruto must know. _She tenses, unable to suppress the dirty look that is aimed at the blonde. Chakra roils in her body fervently as wariness of the blonde builds. Eyes narrow and burn in suspicion as adrenaline flows swiftly through her body, banishing any fogginess and leaving startling clarity behind.

"You… know," a question stated.

He meets her eyes, confused. Sasuke stares pointedly at him, and realization dawns. "Oh, uh. Yeah. It's kinda obvious, actually," he supplies carefully.

The air thickens; Sasuke struggles to breathe. "Are you going to tell anyone?" she braves.

"Well… I don't know. Kakashi-sensei already knows, right?" At her slow nod, he continues, "So then, I guess it's your secret to keep. Sakura-chan?"

"She doesn't."

"I think she deserves to know," Naruto says firmly. "We're your teammates," he adds, "We _all _deserve the right to know. Don't you trust us?"

"No," in response to both question and suggestion.

The hurt that flashes in the other is quickly replaced with suppressed anger. "…I'm going to ask Tsunami-san to help with Sakura-chan," he says instead. Naruto leaves without sparing the Uchiha another glance.

Slow, breath of air released. "Naruto now knows," her thoughts flit. "So what? He said he would not tell anyone." Part of her mind helpfully supplies that the blonde is a loudmouth; Sasuke does her best to ignore it. Suddenly feeling weary, she dispels the henge. The fog is back and her chakra feels surprisingly drained; a simple henge should not have consumed so much energy, but she did perform the jutsu hastily, so perhaps she just put a little more effort into it than normal.

With a frown, she kicks off the rest of the covers, and slides the pants over her legs. Standing is a small struggle, and straightening upright leaves her head spinning a little dizzily. She rolls the futon neatly and folds the borrowed clothing, placing them atop the bedding then pushing the whole bundle against the wall. Her bag is checked to make sure all her belongings are in place; the holster and pouch for her weapons are taken out and strapped on in their respective places. Cloth is wrapped securely around her torso to deceive the more attentive observer. Sasuke feels more at ease when she is properly dressed, and turns to the door when footsteps sound outside of it.

Their host appears after politely knocking on the door, and Sasuke scowls briefly in realization: She was the one that probably revealed it to Naruto. Pushing the thoughts aside, she retrieves Sakura's bag and locates loose fitting clothing while Tsunami pulls aside the blankets on the genin. With care, the shirt is lifted and bandages unraveled; Sasuke witnesses firsthand the extent of her teammate's injury. Neat stitches travel horizontally inward, about four inches deep. She is relieved to see that only a few spots of blood mottle the bandage.

They dress the girl, quickly and efficiently. Their host turns to the Uchiha with another smile. "Shall we inform your comrades that she is ready?"

The few days she has been here, she had been confined to only one room. Following their host, Sasuke is finally able to observe the surroundings. A small house, traditional, with rice papered walls and wooden floors. As they pass the entrance, she spots pairs of shoes neatly lined by the door, slippers on the opposite side. If she listens carefully, she can make out the voice of a young child, coupled with the unmistakable timbre of her teammate's.

"I don't want you to leave, Naruto-bro," moans the child's voice.

_("Don't whine, Sasuke, it is unbecoming of ninja. This mission is very important.")_

Tsunami takes them to the source of the voices.

"Kiddo, I wish I could stay here with you guys a little longer, but I need to return to Konoha to complete my mission. I'm going to be Hokage one day, you know?" comes the response, remorseful, before suddenly lightening up. "But hey, I'll visit you whenever I can! How does that sound?"

"Pinky promise?" hopeful.

Sasuke tries not to feel bad when she interrupts the cheer and laughter. "Naruto, we're ready," she says, before turning heel and leaving the room. He looks a little crestfallen at her appearance, but follows obediently regardless.

"Bro," says the boy.

"Come, Inari. Let's say goodbye to Naruto-kun and the others."

_(Her entrance ceremony to Academy is the same day Itachi leaves for his mission. __Their father sits in the crowd with her peers' parents; Sasuke is elated that her father has for once chosen her over her brother, but it is soon apparent that Itachi has somehow stolen his attention when the Uchiha does not look once in her direction.)_

Kakashi is waiting for them, their bags around his feet and Sakura tied to his back, when they enter the room. The rest of Team 7 picks up the bags, before turning as one to their host and bowing.

"We cannot thank you enough for your hospitality," the jounin says sincerely.

"My, such manners!" their host teases. "I, as well, thank you from the bottom of my heart." She holds the boy a little tighter as she says those words, before continuing, "Our home will always be open for you. Please travel safely."

"Bye bye, Naruto-bro," the child adds sullenly.

Outside, it is misty and damp. The cool air feels refreshing against her skin; Sasuke is eager to return back to Konoha.

A voice suddenly calls out to them, "Sasuke-chan! I almost forgot!"

Stiffening, she feels her face burn at the title. Beside her, Kakashi is amused and Naruto is holding in laughter. Tsunami jogs to them with rolled fabric clutched to her chest. Inside are the sharp senbon that had "killed" her.

"I had cleaned them, and thought that you should have them," the woman explains.

"Thank you," she takes them without reluctance. Weapons were weapons, after all. Carefully tucking them into her pack, they bow once more before heading off again.

When Tsunami disappears from view, Naruto bursts. "Sasuke-chan," he croons. "It fits you. I should call you that from now on. What do you think, Sasuke-chan?"

The genin grits her teeth. "He knows and he promised," she thinks, "But who's to say that he will not back out on his word?" Resigning herself, she answers, "Just not in front of Sakura."

Her supplication results in the largest shit-eating grin she has ever seen on the blonde idiot. "I can't believe you just agreed to that."

Apparently neither can Kakashi, because he stares at her a beat too long out of the corner of his eye, before rolling it in exasperation. "Come on, you two. It's time to go home. Need I remind you that one of your teammates is incapacitated?" He shifts Sakura perceptibly.

Naruto immediately shuts up and picks up the pace, and Sasuke sighs in relief at the sudden quiet. They travel west swiftly and uninterrupted for hours into the setting sun. When the orange rays of light touch the earth's horizon, Kakashi pulls them to a stop in the thickets of a forest.

"We will break here momentarily." Setting down his charge carefully, he stretches taut muscles while Sasuke and Naruto systematically clear the forest floor.

By unspoken word, the two genin leave their teacher to rest while they obtain fresh water. Some distance away, mid-bend with her arms full of empty canteens and knee-deep in water, Naruto nonchalantly says while staring at her intently, "So, when are you going to show me them?"

Sasuke swears that the entire forest goes silent at those words. "What?" she bites out, icily. The _fuck _did he just ask to see?

"Are they, y'know, fully developed yet?" he asks excitedly.

She stares at him in horror. "What the _hell_ is wrong with you?"

"Well, I'm a growing boy, I can't help but be curious!" he shoots back.

Sasuke wonders if she should be glad at how he accepted her secret so easily, or if she should be _alarmed _at what this acceptance might entail.

"For the love of all things holy, Naruto, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Hey!" he exclaims, standing abruptly. "I'm not the one parading myself around with a freaky little secret, now am I?"

"And I'm not the pervert that's demanding a show!"

His expression immediately turns indignant. "Pervert? It's just curiosity, you ass! How does that make me a pervert?"

"Again:_ What the fuck is wrong with you?"_

He splutters, angry, "What do you mean, 'What's wrong with me?' What's wrong with _you?!_ You're so… ugh! Nevermind!" In a show of speed, Naruto is suddenly in the air and flying at a high velocity towards the raven-haired youth. Sasuke barely has time to drop the canteens into the river to block her face before Naruto collides into her, knocking them both underwater. They struggle and attempt to dunk the other below the surface until one particularly vicious push knocks the blonde's head into a submerged rock and leaves him gasping in pain.

While he clutches at his head, Sasuke straightens her clothes, blood boiling and eyes narrowing in anger. Eager to complete their task and return to camp, she finds the bottles floating around the surface almost inhumanly fast, quickly filling them and tossing them to shore in succession. By the time she finishes, Naruto has stopped whining in lieu of watching her avidly. It takes her a moment to realize that wet clothing tends to cling obnoxiously.

"Cool," he says, while she turns scarlet.

Sasuke levels the blonde with a hard stare, and he grins back triumphantly. "See? That wasn't so hard! Don't know what you're so embarrassed about."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she closes her eyes and forces herself to relax. "Don't get mad, don't get mad," a mantra in her head, as her energy simmers to a more acceptable level and her breathing finally evens out.

Inexplicably wearied, Sasuke trudges back to shore and retrieves the canteens. "Let's head back," tiredly.

When they arrive, Kakashi has already started a small fire with tufts of dry grass and twigs. Naruto sets a woodpile beside it while Sasuke stacks the water near their packs. Their teacher follows her wet form inquisitively, but mercifully does not say a word.

"I'm going to change," she mumbles, frustrated, after pulling a new set of dry clothing out. Naruto's sniggers can be heard as she locates a thicket to change behind, and suddenly, Sasuke is overcome with distress.

"I hate what I am!" she wants to scream. "It's not fair." In her mind is her brother's mocking presence, and her father's disappointment of her state. Upset, she wraps the bandages around her chest tighter, flattening what little chest she did have, before sliding on a dry shirt.

Back at camp, Naruto is sobered considerably. Sasuke quickly learns why as cloudy green eyes swivel at her entrance. "Sas…ke," murmurs the girl dazedly.

"Sakura," she breathes, suddenly drained. In an instant, she is kneeling beside her teammate, tentatively ghosting fingers on the other's shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

The genin seems to ponder this question for awhile, before answering, "Nothing," with a small grin.

Sasuke's brow knits at the response, concerned. "How much drugs did you give her?" she asks their teacher.

"That's a good question," he says nonchalantly. "This many," holding up a small bottle.

"The whole bottle," she deadpans.

"Well, you see, it seemed like she was in a lot of pain." Their teacher's eye crinkles as he speaks.

Sasuke does not claim to be an expert in medicine, but she was not at the top of her graduating class at the Academy for no reason. The pink-haired genin's abdomen is swollen, the stitches are bleeding, coupled with the strange behavior, and, not to mention, the fact that there is a deep cut high on her upper-right torso worries Sasuke immensely.

Shit. "Sakura needs a doctor immediately!"

Naruto catches on to her agitation. "Why? What's wrong with Sakura-chan?"

Ignoring him, she nimbly staunches the bleeding, then presses fingers firmly against the genin's shoulder. "Can you feel this?"

The girl concentrates. "Yes?" she hazards, sounding unsure and sleepy.

Sasuke touches her thigh, hip, stomach, all the way up to her face, repeating the question. When fingers reach the girl's cheek, Sakura beams at her. "Yes!" she says proudly, happy at her accomplishment.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto despairs, suddenly frightened.

The silver-haired jounin scratches his chin thoughtfully. "This could be problematic," he understates.

Whipping her head at the blonde, Sasuke barks, "Naruto! Make kage bunshin. Search for the nearest village or doctor!"

"No."

A pair of heads turns to stare at the jounin.

"We are a day away from Konoha. We must continue forward to complete our mission."

"The mission is _failed!"_

"The mission is still underway until the moment the Hokage is informed," in bored tones.

Is this their teacher? "She'll die."

Wide blue eyes jump in her direction.

"That is not a certainty," is the answer. Without pausing, he adds, "We will press onward. Sakura will be fine." A fake smile curls under his black mask.

It is with those words that Sasuke realizes their teacher does not give a shit about his students.

"I'll carry her, then," she says, mind whirling.

Their presence at the clearing is quickly distinguished; the two men shoulder the bags, Kakashi leaping first with Naruto and Sasuke following closely behind. The Uchiha times her jumps to land a fraction of a beat behind the blonde. On her back, Sakura's breathing is labored.

The pink-haired genin groans, and Naruto turns to look. Sasuke catches his attention immediately. "Henge three clones," Sasuke mouths to him.

He frowns at the command, but brings two fingers up obligingly. With an imperceptible wisp of smoke emerges three copies of the genin, a Naruto-clone leading a Sasuke-henge carrying a Sakura-henge. The three leap behind their teacher while the originals stray behind.

"You had better have a good reason for this," the blonde threatens, perturbed. "The bunshin won't deceive him for long."

"He lied to us," she tells him, bluntly. "She won't make it, if we continue. Sakura needs medical attention, now."

Those blue eyes darken. "Why would he lie to us?" he snaps, confused.

It sounds absurd, even to her. The idea of their teacher abandoning a comrade for the sake of a mission… But then, who has not heard of the White Fang of Konoha? They say it is never too late to repent…

Not knowing what else to say, "Just… trust me, okay?"

"As long as we help Sakura-chan," his discomfort apparent.

She nods in agreement. "There is a small ninja village due North of here. There should be medic-nin there that can help her."

Naruto taking point, the remnants of Team 7 swiftly make their way through the thick forest. Sakura grows increasingly agitated with each passing moment, and Sasuke struggles to move as smoothly as possible without losing any speed.

After what seems like hours later, the trees around them begin to thin, and dirt paths form. It is not long afterwards that several small buildings come into view.

"I'll go ahead," Naruto grits out, bursting forward. Before he even completely enters the village, the blonde is literally stopped in his tracks by a tall figure. Sasuke has to squint in order to make out the details; dread immediately forms in her stomach at the sight.

"I thought you'd be here," says their teacher, holding a struggling blonde by the collar of his shirt.

Sasuke eyes him warily. "She needs medical attention," she repeats.

He sighs. "I know. I already sent you ahead for help."

Before she can even question his sanity, several figures dash into view. Three of them are eerily familiar; Sasuke almost slaps her forehead when Naruto's clones arrive, leading a team of medics.

"Traitors," Naruto grumbles from Kakashi's hold, before dispelling the bunshin.

Hands reach for the bundle on her back, and Sasuke releases the girl with some reluctance. With the adrenaline wearing away, the happenings of the day are finally catching up to her. Why is Kakashi here? She voices her question out loud.

"You were my team, after all, regardless of whether or not you actually listen," the silver-haired jounin replies easily.

Were? "Were?"

"Oh yes, I almost forgot. Team 7 is to be disbanded due to direct insubordination on the part of the students and failure to follow the orders of the Captain." His eyes crinkle shut again, another obnoxious smile forming under that damn mask. "It will be official once we reach Konoha."

They both gape at him, incredulous.

"A shame, as I was just beginning to warm up to you," he continues, oblivious to their expressions.

"Damn," says Naruto. Sasuke agrees.

* * *

**Translations, Techniques, and a few lessons**

**Techniques:**

_Henge – _Transformation

_Kage bunshin – _Shadow clones

**Additional Information:**

Physiology lesson: The liver is an amazing organ in your body. Aside from being the largest internal organ, it is also capable of regenerating lost tissue. More than half of your liver can be missing, and it will still be able to regenerate itself back into a whole liver again. Incidentally, the liver is located on the upper right side of your abdomen, next to your stomach.

Other biological-related stuff (putting things in perspective): Naruto mentions that Tazuna cut into Sakura about a palm's width deep, which may not seem like much, but think of it this way: I can lay about 3 of my palms (vertically) from my left side to my right side, and I'm probably fatter than Sakura is. You do the math.

Modern miracles (aka medicine): Acetaminophen is a common household pain reliever. Most people know it as _Tylenol._It is possible to overdose on this medicine; some symptoms include nausea, abdominal swelling, diarrhea, sleepiness, and a confused mental state. Overdosing could lead to acute liver failure, coma, and even death. Be sure to always monitor your amount of intake. NEVER exceed the recommended dosage, and please do not ever take any medicine with alcohol.

Culture lesson: In many countries, it is commonplace to call non-family members a title usually reserved only for family. For example, children sometimes call each other "brother" or "sister" even if they are not truly siblings, as a sign of affection and closeness. A middle-aged person on the street would be Uncle or Aunt, an elderly person would be Grandma or Grandpa, and so on. This is why Naruto calls Tsunade, "Tsunade baa-chan," where baa-chan is how one would say "old lady" or "aunt" in Japanese. Even though they are not related, he calls her that name to both piss her off (in reference to the "old lady" translation) and as a term of endearment (in reference to the "aunt" translation). These "family names" are usually used as terms of endearment, but not necessarily always. A stranger could be called "uncle" if his name is not known, but his attention needs to be caught: "Hey uncle, give me another bowl of ramen!"

More culture lessons: I'm sure you've noticed by now all the suffixes at the ends of everyone's names: -san, -chan, -kun, -sama, -sensei… Here's a brief rundown of what they mean and how one earns each title.

-chan and –kun: These are tricky. –chan is usually reserved for females and small children, regardless of gender. –chan is also usually only used between friends and when adults are referring to children. –kun, on the other hand, can pretty much apply to anyone. The most typical example would be between classmates, where they would refer to each other as –kun in reference to them being equals. Another use for –kun is when adults talk to youths: A teacher would use –kun for his student, regardless of the student's gender (a teacher does not usually call his student –chan unless s/he is trying to be precocious).

--san: to be safe, --san is usually the default title people receive. It would be the English equivalent of Mr/Mrs/Miss; basically, it's a more respected form of –kun and –chan.

--sama: This suffix is mostly reserved for higher-ups, when addressing someone of a much higher status. An underling would call his/her higher-up –sama. A servant would call his/her master –sama. A fan would call his/her idol –sama (example, a person that idolizes the actor Tom Cruise would call him Cruise-sama to show his/her reverence for the actor). Tsunade is called –sama by the village due to her high status as a Hokage. Orochimaru is called –sama by his underlings due to his power.

--sensei: Literally means, teacher. Pretty much if you are in a vocation that entails the possibility of others learning from you, it would make you a sensei. This includes, but is not limited to, teachers and doctors.

--shishou: Literally means, teacher (as well). I won't putz around and pretend to be a master of suffixes; I'm not exactly sure what the circumstances are for this title. So far, the only time I've heard it used is by a student to address a teacher in some kind of martial art. Sakura calls Tsunade –shishou in Shippuuden, as she is learning medical-jutsu as well as offensive-jutsu from the Hokage.

Lack of suffix: there are 2 reasons why you would not add a suffix to the end of a name. One of which would be because you are family or lovers, in which case a suffix is not needed unless you're trying to be cute. Since suffixes are mostly pertinent in order to show respect, it is not necessary for a mother to call her son –kun. On the flip side, children are expected to show respect to their elders, so they would call adults –sama/ –san/ --chan depending on how close/formal the relationship is (Naruto says "Tsunade-baa-chan" to show his close relationship with Tsunade. Sasuke and Itachi would call their father, "otou-san" to show their respect for their father. A prince would call his father, "otou-sama" to show his respect for his father, the king). Similarly, lovers sometimes do not use suffixes because they are in an intimate relationship.

The other reason why you would not add a suffix is if you did not like or respect the person you are talking to. This is the reason why Naruto does not add a suffix to Sasuke's name, but does add one to Sakura's. Sasuke is just "Sasuke" to him (usually), and Sakura is "Sakura-chan" to him. Incidentally, fanfic writers often have Naruto refer to Sasuke as "Sasuke-teme." Interestingly, "teme" is just a very rude way to say "you" in Japanese. It is commonly translated as "bastard" or "jerk," however.

(and while I'm clearing up some common mistranslations, I may as well throw this one into the mix: "dobe" means "dead last," and NOT "idiot." Naruto is a dobe because he ranked last of his graduating class. It is an insult, but not one that is meant to be freely interchangeable with the word "idiot," just like how "fatty" is not meant to be interchangeable with "stupid.")

Kakashi Gaiden: A short arc exclusive to the manga about Kakashi when he was a child, including the rationale and reasoning behind some of his habits and his way of ninja. (SPOILER) His father was known as the White Fang of Konoha, and had committed suicide for bringing shame to Konoha and the Hatake family after choosing to aid a teammate instead of completing the mission. As a result, Kakashi made it his ninja way to always do things by the book, and as such, put the mission before his own comrades.

Notes and Poll:

Apologies for the almost three month wait, but I struggled with this chapter and am still unsatisfied with the amount of word-of-mouth going on. I also tried very hard to make it not filler, and failed pretty spectacularly. In any case, I thank all of you for your steadfast patience with me. I'm always happy to see both new and repeat reviewers alike. : )

On a completely different note, how many of you readers are fans of or do not mind reading yaoi (homosexuality)? And how many of you are not? I seem to have attracted both crowds, and I'm curious to see what the majority is.

And, while I know that many readers often just skip Author Notes (guilty as charged), I'm curious to know if anyone even reads the translations and culture/biology/whathaveyou lessons that I post at the end of each chapter. Am I wasting my time with them, or are they actually informative? I apparently enjoy teaching strangers useless information, and I tend to go overboard.


	8. Side Chapter

A thank-you gift chapter for **foreverloved, **for responding to my Author's Notes in Chapter 5 concerning the significance of Sasuke's name. Those of you that have also replied to that Note and would like a gift as well, please Message me. I tried contacting some of you, but did not receive responses. In any case, this chapter is dedicated to foreverloved and was inspired by foreverloved.

Chapter Summary: In which Team 7 has a D-rank mission that leaves Naruto writhing in delight (the others not so much).

Prompt: Team 7 gets recruited to help out at a restaurant. Hilariousness ensues.

Chapter warnings: AU from my AU (meaning, side story for my fic), language, crossdressing, **yaoi-thoughts** (sorta). At this point in time, Team 7 does not yet know of Sasuke's true gender. As far as they know, Sasuke is a boy.

Chapter Rating: T

**Note before reading**: I may lose a few readers in this chapter, so if you don't like to read **yaoi**, then you'll be wanting to skip this side fic. It has no significance to the understanding or development of the rest of the story, _Lengths_.

As far as where it fits in the _Lengths _universe, this takes place before they even left for Mist Village, right after Kakashi accepted them as his students.

* * *

Ramen, ramen, everywhere, but not a drop to eat. He suddenly can sympathize with the plights of Odysseus, presented with such delicacies that no mortal could ever experience, yet unable to partake in the feast. To make matters worse, two large bowls are placed just under his nose, the savory broth filling his senses and causing his mouth to water. Just a sip… just one noodle couldn't hurt… 

Something hard collides with the back of his head.

"Ow! Geez, knock it off, you jerk!" he spits.

Sasuke just glares in response, then points to the delicious bowls before the blonde. "Table 2. _Now_."

"God, you're such a dick," he grumbles, then suddenly bursts into laughter. "Or rather, you're such a _not-_dick," he crows.

The Uchiha stares at him while smoothing down the ruffles in his skirt. That's right, the great Uchiha Sasuke was wearing a frilly little dress, and Naruto had the pleasure of witnessing his manhood crumble into tiny, microscopic bits of dust. This will be a sight he commits to his memory for the rest of his life.

"You're such an idiot," the jerk responds, trying to sound blasé. "Go deliver the food before the customers are upset," while walking past. He pauses momentarily when he is next to the blonde. "Besides," his tone turns sinister, "I wouldn't be talking either, _Naomi_," then engages the next swoop of customers that enter the door.

Naruto balks at the comment. "You're just jealous because I'm cuter than you are!" he calls to the boy, before sweeping up the ramen with a twirl of his skirts and delivering it to his hungry table.

"Pork ramen for the good man, and miso for the lovely lady," setting down the orders. "Have a wonderful Valentine's Day, and please don't hesitate to flag me down if you need anything," he adds with a smile.

Somewhere behind him, he can hear Sasuke mimicking his words in cute tones, "…and please enjoy your meal, sirs." The way the men at the table beside Uchiha's are leering reveals that Naruto is not the only one that thought that. The way the Uchiha is clenching his fists reveals that he is not unaware.

"Ah, Sasami-chan," Naruto calls, before clutching onto the arm of his teammate and dragging him away. "Can you help me with Table 10? There's a lot to carry, and I can't do it all in one trip."

They run into Sakura-chan on the way back to the kitchens. "How're your arms, Sakura-chan?" he whispers to the blonde boy before him, carrying stacks of dirty dishes.

The boy frowns. "Don't call me that, Naomi-chan. We're on a job." Then, sighing, "I'm starting to get really tired. My arms are_sore_."

"Boss will give you a break if you ask for one," the blonde tells her. "I'm going to take mine in a half-hour."

"_Naomi-chan! There are some guests at the door!" _calls a man's voice, startling Naruto.

"Okay!" Flashing another smile at Sakura-chan, he turns to Sasuke. "Sasami-chan," he begs with wide eyes, "Can you take care of my table? Please?"

Sasuke turns cool eyes at him. "I get the tip, then," he says.

"Nuh-uh, no way! You get half!"

"Sixty-forty."

Awesome, Naruto would've settled at thirty! "Fine," before hurrying to the front. "Hello, my name is Naomi. How many are with us today?" he bubbles, herding the newcomers to the empty tables.

On his way back to the kitchens, his skirts get caught in an overenthusiastic girl's explanation as she waves her hands around in demonstration. Naruto remembers just in time to freak out at the action, anxiously accepting the sincere apology the customer exclaims before continuing on.

It is Valentine's Day, and Team 7 currently has a mission in the city's most popular noodle restaurant. Under normal circumstances, Naruto would have whined and complained about having another D-rank mission. These weren't normal circumstances, however.

Smoothing out his skirts again, the blonde nearly bumps into his eternal rival when the Uchiha suddenly bursts through the doors carrying way way_ way _too many bowls a civilian female should normally carry.

"Ah… Sasami-chan? Aren't all of those a little heavy? Let me help you…"

"Boss wants a word," the Uchiha interjects smoothly, then makes a show of carrying all the bowls of noodles to Naruto's abandoned Table 10. "Wah, those were so heavy!" he exclaims cutely, setting down the tray with visible relief.

"All of those at once? I think we need to give her a bigger tip for not spilling a drop!" Naruto hears one of the customers exclaim, applauding. Ah-hah…

In back, sensei is sitting at a table, reading a novel. He doesn't even look up when Naruto enters, but instead just waves vaguely at the white cloth on the table before him. Naruto picks it up, crestfallen, and ties on the frilly apron begrudgingly.

"Anything else?" he asks.

"Is that your Oiroke no Jutsu?"

"No, Kakashi-sensei. It's henge."

"How are you feeling?"

"Starting to get tiring," he answers truthfully. It's been several hours since they had started working; Naruto has never held onto a henge this long, before.

The silver-haired jounin nods. "Probably because you overdid it on the breasts." Naruto has the decency to blush at that comment. "Tell Sakura to take her break now," the man adds, before waving him away.

On his way back out to the floor, the blonde calls to the cook, "Chef, Sagara-kun and I are going on break!"

"Fifteen minutes only, Naomi-chan! Don't leave Sasami-chan alone to handle the job for too long."

Naruto finds Sakura-chan being harassed by a group of elders.

"My grandson is such a good-for-nothing," says the woman, gesticulating wildly. "You're such a nice boy, Sagara-kun. Such wonderful manners. If only our grandson were raised as such! I swear to the heavens, it's all the fault of his good-for-nothing father! I don't know what my little girl was thinking, marrying that horrible man! Tell me, young man, where did you learn such impeccable manners?"

Sakura-chan wisely had remained out of range of the woman's movements, but unfortunately, not out of range of her topic of conversation. "My mother taught me, ma'am," she answers, looking peaky. Her eyes catch sight of Naruto, and the blonde almost laughs at the expression the girl is sporting.

"A wise woman, she was," says the customer, sagely. "A fine young man you are, and so handsome too! I bet your father is a real looker, not like my good-for-nothing son-in-law!"

The now-blonde-haired genin fidgets uncomfortably, unsure what to say in response. Naruto spares her the trouble, "I'm sorry, miss, but Sagara-kun is needed in back."

"Please don't hesitate to let me know if you require anything more," says Sakura-chan, ever polite, regardless of the situation.

"Have an enjoyable meal!" Naruto adds, before carting the poor girl to the break room.

The moment they walk through the door, Sakura-chan releases her henge. Watching the change is eerie: her hair grows longer, turns pinker, features soften, until it is no longer Sagara-kun standing before Naruto, but rather Sakura-chan.

The pink-haired genin takes one look at Naruto before groaning. "How can you still keep up the henge? I'm so tired," she moans adorably, sinking into a chair.

"I have a lot of chakra," Naruto answers, twirling a blonde pigtail. "Plus, Sasuke and I aren't doing as much grunt work as you," apologetically. It had been Kakashi's idea (of course), to use this simple mission as an opportunity to build up their endurance training as well. Naruto and Sasuke are to work on their poise and balance, while Sakura-chan is made to build up her physical strength. The kicker is the fact that they are to keep up a henge at all times; Naruto, always having an overabundance of chakra, is beginning to feel a little strained. He can only imagine how Sakura-chan and the bastard must be feeling right about now.

Speaking of which… "Sasuke makes a pretty cute girl, doesn't he?" Naruto sniggers. "His henge doesn't look much different from how he normally looks, y'know?"

Sakura-chan frowns, "But that's because he already looks kinda girly, even without the henge." She claps a hand over her mouth after saying it, but it's too late.

His laughter is too loud and boisterous for a petite girl his transformation suggests, but he doesn't care. "Oh, god, Sakura-chan! I'm going to tell him you said that. He'll be so pissed," snickering.

The girl's face wilts instantly. "Please don't," she practically pouts, turning Naruto into a pile of goo. "Sasuke-kun is so sensitive to those kinds of things. He might get mad."

"I know, I know, I won't," the blonde sighs. He's such a sucker for cute faces. Glancing up at the clock, he slides off the table he was sitting on, and straightens the ruffles again. Sakura-chan pries herself off the chair, and performs another henge, pink hair disappearing and soft features hardening.

"Back to the shark pit," she grumbles, eliciting a chuckle.

When they return to the floor, it can only be described as mayhem. Somehow, in the last fifteen minutes, the number of occupants in the restaurant has magically doubled. Every single table is filled, and there is a line out the door and curling around the street corner, from what Naruto can see from within the establishment.

Sasuke looks harassed, moving between tables with a grace only a ninja could possess, too busy to fix his mussed long hair and rumpled skirt to notice that it has ridden up much higher than he would probably be comfortable with, had he known. As it goes, the men sitting at the table behind him are certainly enjoying the view, and Naruto can't blame them, what with those long, long legs teasing them not three feet away.

That's some henge; Naruto admires the handiwork. It's those small details, like knowing women tend to have longer legs than men, longer necks, smaller torsos, smaller faces—it's knowing those little details that only Sasuke would think of, that sets him apart from everyone else at the Academy. No wonder he was first in his class.

Sasuke's too busy himself to notice the foot, but Naruto, being the observer, saw it instantly. "That table is trouble," he thinks to himself, beginning to make his way over. He watches as the raven-haired youth stumbles over the outstretched limb; his blood begins to boil when an arm snakes around that little waist and wraps tightly.

"Careful there, Sasami-chan!" exclaims the man holding his teammate, pulling him into his lap and stroking those dark locks of hair.

"Sir!" he hears Sasuke say, those small hands pushing against the shoulder of the man a little too roughly. Shit. Better get there fast, before someone leaves here without an arm, and we fail this mission (among other things, such as facing a large hospital bill and possible imprisonment for assault on a civilian).

Walking faster, Naruto is only a few steps away from his destination when It happens. "It" is that man's friend, sitting across from them, reaching out a hand to land squarely on his teammate's ass, cupping a generous handful and remaining there. The air suddenly feels hotter, and Naruto doesn't wait to see how well the sole heir of the Uchiha clan can manipulate fire techniques.

Lunging the last stretch, Naruto's hands grasp at the raven's shoulders as the genin turns to pummel the man groping his ass. Sasuke's eyes widen comically as Naruto's face nears, before they're too close for him to focus properly without going cross-eyed, causing him to close them.

Naruto waits a few seconds, then a low whistle sounds. "Damn," someone says.

He makes a show of smacking his lips after pulling off the other, and smiling as cutely as he can. "Thanks for all your hard work, Sasami-chan!" chirping, then pulling the other out of that man's lap before enveloping him in a rib-crushing hug.

"Na… Na…" Sasuke attempts to choke out, face bright red and mouth gaping.

"Close your mouth, or I'll stick my tongue in it next time," he says cheekily, and hears the teeth click together when the Uchiha abruptly abides. "Go take a break," he adds. When Sasuke nods dumbly and begins leaving, his eyes automatically travel down. Grinning, he pinches the skin right under the other's ass, causing the youth to jump. "And fix your uniform! It looks like you're asking for some!" If at all possible, Sasuke turns even redder, holding his skirts down while exiting in long strides.

Naruto waits for the boy to disappear behind the partition, before turning his attention back to the rowdy table. A cursory glance reveals them to be mostly finished with their meal, with a wad of cash resting on the bill. They would need change, but Naruto's already short patience is at its limit.

"I hope I didn't leave a mark when I pinched her," Naruto suddenly says out loud, worriedly. "Hyuuga-sama might think she was cheating on him with another man." He chews on his bottom lip in concern while clearing their table. The man that had groped Sasuke stiffens at the words.

"Hyuuga-sama?"

He nods emphatically, then leans closer to the men. "You know, I heard that their eyes can see through _things_," she murmurs. "And they're such a respectable clan; surely Hyuuga-sama checks every day if his lover has been faithful to him or not. I would hate to know what would happen to her if he found anything… incriminating! Or worse, what would happen to the one that put that mark there! Sagara-kun does report to him weekly what happens while Sasami-chan is working… Oh, what to do!" From across the restaurant, Sakura-chan is openly watching them with interest. The men at the table follow his gaze. Naruto represses a grin.

And, as if reading her mind, Sasuke storms back to the table, eyes blazing. "Na… Naomi! It's… there's a mark, stupid!" The man beside him pales.

"Wah, Sasami-chan, it can't be that bad," Naruto says, concerned.

"Idiot! I have lightly colored skin! It's like a _beacon!"_

Ding. Naruto couldn't have said it any better himself.

"And there are _bruises _where you grabbed me, too," the Uchiha continues, unaware of the mounting horror being accumulated from the people at the table. "Bruises take forever to fade away, and we're supposed to have our picture taken this weekend, remember? How am I supposed to have my picture taken if I'm all black and blue?"

That's right, just keep going, Sasuke.

"And don't forget this!" he adds, pointing to his lips. They're a little swollen and bloody, probably from Naruto's rough collision. It actually made his lips look redder and pouty—very cute—but Naruto wasn't about to tell him that anytime soon.

"I don't know," the blonde responds, looking worried. "What if you used makeup?"

"Here, let me pay for it," interrupts the customer suddenly, pulling crisp bills from his wallet and handing it to the genin. Sasuke takes it, confused and frowning. The man mistakes his expression, and opens his wallet again. "What am I thinking? Here's a little more; my wife is always telling me how expensive makeup is these days!" handing the Uchiha some more. He stands quickly, almost upsetting his chair and the table, the rest of his friends following suit.

"Keep the change," he tells the two, before the pack of them scurry out the door.

"Er," says Sasuke, mystified by their behavior, and still clutching the money.

Naruto takes the cash from his unresisting hands and scoops up what was left on the table. Counting quickly, he says, "Sixty-forty?" He smiles cheekily, before gathering the dirty dishes and leaving the youth with his share of the tip.

At the end of the day, the restaurant is a mess. Team 7 is sitting at one of the abandoned tables, bowls of noodles before each of them, henge still up. The owner of the establishment, after all, is still in kitchens, and they are technically still on a mission.

Slurping up his ramen, Naruto fixes the once-pink-haired genin with a look. "Hey, Sagara-kun, how 'bout a kiss? It's Valentine's day, after all!" he tries, blinking innocently at the girl.

"I'm not your date," she retorts.

He gives her The Eyes, and internally cheers when Sakura-chan sighs, then sets aside her chopstick. A quick brush of the lips against his cheek, that's all.

He pouts, "Aw, just the cheek? But Sasami-chan kissed me on the lips!"

The Uchiha chokes on his noodles, turning red.

"We should totally stay like this when we get our Team picture taken," he adds, helping himself to Sasuke's soup while his teammates just gape at him. Wrapping a bite of noodles around his chopstick, he feeds it to the conveniently open mouth in front of it.

"Now, Sasami-chan, what did I say earlier about letting your mouth hang like that?"

For some reason, the punches seem to lack bite when made by a blushing boy wearing frilly woman's clothing. Naruto pinches him again, amused at the reaction it garners. So cute. Really a shame that he doesn't just stay like that. Naruto decides to talk to Kakashi-sensei later about incorporating more endurance training into their missions.

He leers at the thought. Really, if that's a D-rank, then he couldn't wait until they did the higher level ones.

* * *

** Translations and Notes:**

Henge: Transformation

Oiroke no Jutsu: Sexy Technique

At the beginning, Naruto thinks, "Ramen, ramen, everywhere, but not a drop to eat." This is a play off the old saying, "Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink," in reference to the lack of fresh water in comparison to salt-water.

The Odysseus comparison he makes is in reference to The Odyssey, by Homer. At one point, the hero (Odysseus) is presented with an irresistible feast by a goddess named Circe. However, were he to consume the food, he would have been turned into a pig, and as such, must resist the temptations.

Hyuuga clan: Their doujutsu (eye techniques) allow them to see through things (like walls, or as it was implied in this case, clothing).

Notes: Like I said in the Notes at the beginning of this side story, this chapter has **no significance on the rest of the story. **This was written for **foreverloved, **as a gift for providing a thoughtful response to a question I had asked in Chapter 5. As I said at the top of this chapter, if you also answered the challenge I presented, and would like a gift as well, please Message me.

As for the "yaoi" label for this chapter, it's because everything is from Naruto's perspective. Since Team 7 does not know Sasuke is a girl when this side story takes place, Naruto refers to Sasuke as a male, hence my decision in coining it yaoi (even though it isn't… oh, the complications of it all).

I hope your Valentine's Day is less harassed than Team 7's was. On the flip side, I hope you also have one as enjoyable as Naruto's. : )


End file.
